Players Ratings of Hearts of Oak – Kotoko Clash : Hearts of Oak clinched a narrow victory over sworn rivals Asante Kotoko on Sunday in their betPawa Ghana Premier League Week 20 encounter at the Accra Sports stadium.
The Phobians move up two places on the league standings with their big win, from the 6th position to the 4th place with 31 points in 20 matches. They also lifted the 2023 GHALCA President’s Cup.
Meanwhile , Kotoko who have the same number of points as the Phobians are just a place below their rivals.
It was a more solid performance from Hearts of Oak who were without head coach Slavko Matic , advised by Ghana Police to stay away from the club at the present time after a group of Phobian supporters stormed the Pobiman Training Complex to prevent he expatriate trainer from performing his coaching duties last Friday.
The game was full of actions as both teams created numerous goal scoring chances but it was former WAFA center-back Konadu Yiadom who rose highest to connect home Linda Mtange’s 56th minute free-kick to put the home team ahead.
However video replay show Konadu may have been in an off-side position before the Congolese kicked the ball but the Phobians went ahead to secure a 1-0 win.
Kotoko had plenty chances to score particularly through Steven Mukwala , Enock Morrison and Richmond Lamptey but they all failed to shine.
Hearts of Oak Player Ratings :
GK Richmond Ayi (7/10) – Refused to be beaten by Mukwala , Lamptey and Morrison on a number of occasions. He organized his defence so well.
RB Yaw Amankwah Baafi (7/10) – Did a great job on the right for the Phobians. Won the free-kick that resulted in the winning goal for his team.
LB Dennis Nkrumah Korsah (6/10) – For the second time in the Super Clash Korsah could have conceded a penalty. He was lucky not to have conceded one against Mukwala in the 93rd minute. Nevertheless , he did a god job on the left.
CB Caleb Amankwah (7/10) – Put in a top performance at the back.
CB Konadu Yiadom (7/10) – Threw all his body to block Georges Mfegues’ shot in the 48th minute and scored the only goal of the game. Much improved performance than his bad match against Aduana Stars at the same stadium this season.
DM Eric Esso (7/10) – Controlled the midfield so well for Hearts of Oak.
CM Glid Otanga Mvouo (5/10) – Was not much involved in the action-packed match.
RF Benjamin York (6/10) – Threatened to score on a number of occasions and when he finally did in the 23rd minute his goal was correctly disallowed for off-side.
LF Albert Dieudonne (6/10) – Made his presence felt up front against the Kotoko defenders.
AM Linda Mtange (8/10) – Was a constant threat to the opponents throughout the game. He provided the assist for Konadu Yiadom to score with his 56th minute free-kick.
CF Kwadwo Obeng Junior (6/10) – Put in some dangerous balls for his teammates as he impressed without scoring.
Subs : N/A
Asante Kotoko Player Ratings :
GK Ibrahim Danlad (6/10) – Made plenty saves. Intelligently thwarted Albert Diedonne in the 7th minute and followed it up with a big save from Benjamin York’s rebound. Came out to deal with Mtange’s free-kick but he was beaten by Konadu Yiadom who headed home the only goal of the game.
RB Augustine Agyapong (5/10) – Did not do much on the right for Kotoko and struggled to mark Benjamin York at times.
LB Nicholas Osei Bonsu (5/10) – Struggled with his recovery during defensive transitions of his team.
CB Mohammed Alhassan (6/10) – Put in a massive performance at the back as he cleared many dangers.
CB Sheriff Mohammed (5/10) – Not the best of matches for the center-back as he had a torrid time marking Albert Dieudonne.
CM Richard Boadu (6/10) – Did his best as the skipper of the side and was seen in the midfield battle at most of the times.
CM Sherif Mohammed (5/10) – Was an indifferent performance from the versatile player.
AM Richmond Lamptey (6/10) – Won many duels but was wasteful on the afternoon and all his goal attempts lacked precision.
RF Enock Morrison (5/10) – Picked MVP against Bechem United in mid-week but failed to repeat his form against Hearts of Oak. He was replaced by Clinton Opoku in the 66th minute.
LF Georges Mfegues (6/10) – Worked hard but he was let down by his other teammates up front. Left the game in the 74th minute as Eric Zeze took his place.
CF Steven Mukwala (5/10) – Squandered many big chances as he let his team down even though he could have won a penalty after Dennis Korsah appeared to impede him in the area in the 93rd minute but referee Jacob Aduntera was not interested.
Subs : N/A
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