‘We’ll shock Hearts in Accra’
The Premier League returns this weekend with the spotlight on the Accra Sports Stadium, where Hearts of Oak lock horns with Aduana Stars in a fierce encounter.
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Days before Sunday’s match, Aduana fired a salvo when their CEO, Albert Commey, threatened that his boys would invade the Accra Sports Stadium to devour Hearts in their own backyard. To Mr Commey, a former communications manager of Hearts, the time had come for fourth-placed Aduana to collect the maximum points in Accra after splitting the points in a 1-1 drawn game in their first round clash at Dormaa-Ahenkro two months ago.
“We are storming Accra to beat Hearts in their own backyard,” Mr. Commey said, when commenting on the match on a local radio station in Accra last Wednesday.
The Aduana boss is counting on free scoring striker, Yahaya Mohammed, and his partner, Zakaria Mohammed, to combine effectively to go past the Hearts backline of Robin Gnagne and Owusu Bempah, while Aduana defenders of Godfred Saka and Kenneth Owusu keep close watch on Hearts’ leading scorer, Cosmos Dauda, and the midfield duo of Abdul Razak and Samudeen Ibrahim.
With the two sides separated by a point and with a good chance to leapfrog to the top spot, Sunday’s game is expected to be fiercely competitive as new Hearts coach, Sergio Traguil, go in search of his second home win against a side who stunned Liberty Professionals 3-2 at Dansoman two months ago but subsequently lost all their away games.
Another interesting fixture is tomorrow’s game at the Tema Stadium between third-placed Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Inter Allies, with both sides experiencing contrasting fortunes and nursing different ambitions. For Kotoko, who trail league leaders, Wa All Stars, by just a point, a win against 13th-placed Allies could move them to the top, whereas the home side are eyeing a victory to push them up the league log.
Coach Michael Osei, who guided Kotoko to win the President’s Cup in Accra last week, will go into the match without the services of his leading striker, Dauda Mohammed, while Allies will be without the influential Evans Mensah, both of whom are on national duty with the Black Satellites.
In other matches, Medeama, who held WAFA to a goalless draw at Sogakope in an outstanding match play host to Dreams FC when they clash at the T&A Park at Tarkwa; bottom club New Edubiase United will seek to avenge their first round loss against Liberty Professionals when the two sides meet at Obuasi.
The match between Ebusua Dwarfs and Sekondi Hasceacces at the Robert Mensah Stadium in Cape Coast could go either way just as the regional derby between Bechem United and Berekum Chelsea at the Nana Gyeabour Park at Bechem.
At Wa, All Stars are tipped to deepen the woes of defending champions Ashgold, while Techiman City are favourites to maintain their unbeaten home record and win against WAFA at the Nana Ameyaw Park at Techiman.