Trustees win Super Cup in style

Trustees of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) last Saturday affirmed their status as the most dominant hockey club in the country with an emphatic 3-1 victory over Sapholda Hockey Club in the final of the inaugural Sapholda Ventures Super Cup final.

The gargantuan Super Cup trophy secured under floodlights at the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Stadium was the second piece of silverware in two weeks for the men's league champions, Trustees, after they clinched the T. Tommy Cup a fortnight ago in Kumasi.

Both teams boasted similar good records in the men's and seniors’ division heading into the tie as they held the League, Cup, Gala and T. Tommy titles in their respective trophy cabinets.

However, it was the much younger Trustees side, bolstered by the addition of several veteran players, including Coach Edmund Aryeetey, who were much more ruthless in the final third of the pitch in the course of the game.

Sapholda started with three youngsters in their line-up and dominated possession but failed to threaten the Trustees goal with their wayward strikes.

Trustees punished Sapholda in the 23rd minute when veteran Seth Bimpong capitalised on a lax defending to beat goalie Adolph Adjei with a precise shot into the corner of the goal.

Trustees got control of the game after opening the scoring and deservedly doubled the tally in the 32nd minute through skipper, Matthew Damalie, who blasted in an unstoppable shot that left Sapholda in disarray as the teams headed into the break.

After the break, Trustees appeared on course for a comfortable victory but were pegged back against the run of play when Richard Adjei scored for Sapholda in the 58th minute to make the score 2-1 and set up a tensed finish.

Trustees then quashed any hopes of a Sapholda comeback when Ernest Opoku put the contest beyond Sapholda when he converted a superb penalty corner routine in the 37th minute.

Trustees were presented with GH¢500 prize money in addition to the Super Cup trophy, while Ben Talley of Sapholda received an undisclosed cash prize as the man-of-the-match.