Sapholda Hockey League: Ghana Army halt Exchequers' unbeaten run

The second round of the 2025 Sapholda Greater Accra Hockey League resumed with a bang last Saturday, as Ghana Army stunned defending champions, Exchequers, with a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory at the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Stadium, handing the Bank of Ghana side their first defeat of the season.

Exchequers drew first blood after 15 minutes through Kofi Okyere Quagraine, who converted a penalty corner to give the champions a first-period lead. 

But Army responded with grit and precision, levelling the score in the 25th minute courtesy of a well-executed penalty corner from Stephen Ofosu Asamoah.

Army then seized control in the third quarter, striking twice through Gabriel Tettey and Abdul Malik with two expertly taken field goals.

Although Quagraine bagged his brace with another penalty corner in the 53rd minute, it proved nothing more than a consolation as the soldiers held firm for a statement win.

The result shook up the title race, with GRA Men leaping to the top of the standings after dismantling Ark Men 4-0 in a dominant display.

Ibrahim Mohammed, captain Matthew Damalie, Luke Kofi Damalie, and Prince Adjetey each scored in successive periods to seal a second consecutive win over Ark — having beaten them 3-0 at the close of the first round.

GRA now sit atop the table with 15 points, just one ahead of Exchequers. Army and Police trail closely with 14 and 13 points respectively, though Police’s fixture against Legon Knights was postponed, leaving the table delicately poised.

Royal Ladies march on

In the women’s division, GRA Royal Ladies continued their imperious form with a 6-0 thrashing of Reformers of Ghana Prisons, maintaining their perfect record and stretching their lead at the summit to 18 points.

Inspirational skipper Elizabeth Opoku was simply unplayable, netting four goals in the second half to cap another breathtaking performance from the reigning African champions. The result edges the Royal Ladies ever closer to retaining their crown.

Chasing hard in second place are Army Ladies, who completed a double over their fierce rivals Police Ladies with a gritty 2-1 victory — a mirror of their first-round result.

That win puts Army on 13 points, five behind the leaders but now four points clear of third-placed Police, who suffered back-to-back defeats.

Elsewhere, Extinguishers Ladies made it a double over Legon Knights Ladies, grinding out a narrow 1-0 win to leapfrog Reformers into fourth spot.

With six points from this encounter alone, Extinguishers are beginning to find form in the second half of the season.