Attuquayefio in trouble with Hearts fans
Hearts call Liberty’s bluff
‘New’ Kotoko pass first test
Leading goal scorers in LG top four competition
Hearts fans in B/A launch ‘Yibima’
Kotoko, Goldfields fans commend Asantehene
Coach Attuquayefio to quit active coaching
Mighty Stars unbeaten record broken
Red Lions beat Western Show Boys
Looking beyond Burkhard Ziese
Sharks succumb to "God is king"
Tabi wins Achimota Captain's prize
Attuquayefio in trouble with Hearts fans
The fans who
looked furious touted insinuations on their former coach accusing him of
arrogance while others even attempted to attack him. But for the vigilance of
security men on duty and some good Samaritan Phobian fans present, the situation would have been bad for
him.
Though reasons behind the
unfavourable reaction of the fans against their former head-coach are unknown,
indications are that it could be because the coach led
Speaking to the GNA Sports Coach
Attuquayefio said " I don't know why I have
become an enemy to fans of Hearts all of a sudden, after all I have served them
well during my tenure of office".
He however said he was not the
least perturbed about the reaction of the fans. The coach said he was not ready
to comment on Sunday's game but instead broke the news that the Phobian club owed him ˘50m. The furious looking coach said
the amount came from unpaid salaries, allowances and bonus while he was with
the club.
When GNA Sports asked him
whether the timing of his claims was right, he answered in the affirmative
adding that "I have written to the club on two occasions but they failed
to either reply or contacted me to that effect. I think the timing could not
have been better than now".
He said the reaction of the fans
had not spiked his emotion to disclose whatever differences he had with his
former employers. The coach dared the Phobians to
come out to either deny or affirm his claims.
On the other hand Coach Herbert Addo of Accra Hearts of oak has condemned the attitude of
the fans towards coach Attuquayefio. According to Coach Addo
the renowned coach does not deserve such treatment meted out to him and called
on all to condemned it.
He said football is a game and
everyone must see it as such adding that he does not go into any game with
anybody in mind but only to win. Coach Addo called on
fans to exercise restrain in all their endeavours.
Commenting on the match, Coach Addo said "this tourney is a stepping stone towards
African Cup club Championship and it is a good start for us". I am
building a team for
Touching on the absence of
Charles Taylor, one of the key players of the club currently undertaking trials
in
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Hearts call Liberty
Playing against the backdrop of
two successive defeats at the hands of
Hearts dominance especially from
the flakes where Don Bortey operated become eminent
when in the 10th minute they opened the scores through a header by Wisdom Abbey
who nodded home a well timed Dan Quaye cross from the right. But instead of the
goal inspiring the Phobians, they instead relaxed and
allowed
The game then degenerated into
roughhouse tactics as Referee Alex Kotey failed to
stamp his authority. Hearts under pressure nearly double the lead in the 34th
minute when a header from Princeton Owusu Ansah
heading to the top corner of the net was headed off from the line by Samuel Addo.
The Phobians
opened up in the second half and with the game barely five minutes old nearly
doubled their lead but for a spectacular goalkeeping by Cudjoe
Addo a Don Bortey chip from
the edge of the box would have landed in the net.
A moment of debate came in the
63rd minute when Moses Abban scrambled in a corner
kick into net but Referee Kotey controversially
disallowed the goal for an infringement on goalkeeper Nanor.
The second goal threw the
stadium into a carnival atmosphere as supporters scaled the inner perimeter to
celebrate a famous victory over
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‘New’ Kotoko pass first test
The supporters trooped to the
stadium to see what the IMC could offer them and in the end returned home
satisfied that they had something good in the offing for their idol club.
Playing for 33 minutes with 10 men after FIFA referee Ibrahim Iddrisu of Tamale had sent Frank Osei off the field for
allegedly striking an Olympics player, Kotoko were not deterred and carried the
game to their opponents and were unlucky not to have registered a fourth goal
in the dying minutes of the game.
Kotoko kicked-off and raised the
expectations of their supporters with a fifth minute first dash at goal but
Nana Frimpong woefully missed a Shilla Alhassan's cross. Nana Frimpong again wasted what was a
very good chance to put his side ahead in the 10th minute when he
headed carelessly Stephen Oduro's freekick.
Olympics shook themselves from
the slumber and a minute later earned two corner-kicks on the trot but wasted
them.
Let off the hook, Kotoko worked
the ball into the Olympics territory and with strongman Shilla
Alhassan spearheading the attack, pushed forward and
laid on a neat pass for Abedi Sarfo
whose shot was tipped over the bar by goalkeeper David Sharpe.
But Kotoko were not to be denied
a goal as Stephen Oduro shot them ahead in the 18th
minute from Shilla Alhassan's
cross from the right with the Olympics defence caught flatfooted. This forced
Olympics to replace Isaac Quaye with Nii Nanka Bruce in the 23rd minute and had
goalkeeper Louis Quainoo tipping his ball over the
bar two minutes later from John Cudjoe's shot.
Kotoko should have raised the
tally to 2-0 in the 38th minute but skipper Godwin Ablordey who was fouled in the penalty box, feebly shot the
resultant penalty kick into the hands of goalkeeper Sharpe.
Back from recess, Frank Osei who
took over from Shilla Alhassan
who limped off the field in the 40th minute, raised Kotoko's tally to 2-0 in the 55th minute when he
beat goalkeeper Sharpe to the ball from Stephen Oduro's
cross.
Two minutes later, referee Iddrisu sent him off for hitting an opponent and Kotoko were
thus forced to replace Stephen Oduro in order to
strengthen the defence with Anas Mohammed, but it was
Olympics who pulled a goal back through Winfred Dormon
in the 71st minute.
Abedi Sarfo,
however, raised the tally to 3-1 in the 77th minute and Joe Okyere was unlucky as his header hit the bar in the 89th
minute from Aziz Ansah's
free-kick. Kotoko's central defender, Joe Hendricks
was voted player of the match.
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Leading goal scorers in LG top four competition
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Hearts fans in B/A launch ‘Yibima’
Sunyani (Greater Accra)
Alhaji Saani
made the commendation when speaking at the launching of Brong-Ahafo branch of
Accra Hearts of Oak Africa Cup Fund-Raising programme at Sunyani. The
Brong-Ahafo programme formed part of Hearts of Oak's efforts to raise adequate
fund to support the club in the forthcoming African Cup of Nations championship
league.
Alhaji Saani
noted that notwithstanding his resignation as the executive chairman of the
club in 2000, Harry Zakour whose administration
steered Hearts to win the national league for three consecutive times and the
African cup, thus winning him the accolade the millennium chairman, has been
supportive of the club financially anytime the need arose.
He described Zakour
as "a man of a difference and very humane" and said the multiple
victories he chalked for the team testify that " Harry really eats,
drinks, baths and even sleeps with Hearts of Oak."
Launching the fund, Zakour thanked the supporters, who had travelled from all
the corners of Brong-Ahafo Region for the event saying, "without you there
is no Hearts of Oak". He said from the bottom of his heart, his
resignation as the executive chairman of the club was not the end of his
contributions towards the enhancement of the Phobian
club.
"I gave Tommy (referring to
Thomas Okine, the current incumbent chairman of the
club) my blessings before resigning as chairman. My exit from the chairmanship
position does not follow that I am away from the club. I am now a member of the
Board of Directors hence it behoves on me to give my widow's mite towards the
betterment of the team, Zakkor said.
On the club's African Cup
fund-raising programme, he said this is the time the club needed financial
assistance from supporters and appealed to them to donate generously towards
that end.
Nana Kodua
Asabre, National First Vice-Chairman and Northern
Sector Organising Chairman, appealed to the followers of Phobian
club in Brong-Ahafo to show their love for the club by embracing the
management's fund-raising programme of "YI BI MA".
He said the contribution is not
limited to only the supporters of the team but every Tom, Dick and Harry who
has Hearts of Oak at heart could do so. Nana Asabre
said a total of 70 million cedis was realized during the launching of the
Ashanti Regional programme in
According to him, ˘20m of the
amount was collected during the launching while 50 million cedis was realized
from the sale of coupons four days after the launch only in Kumasi.
J.Y. Appiah, Brong-Ahafo
Regional Chairman of Hearts of Oak Supporters Union in a welcoming address said
his administration had a target of ˘50m and called on all the 13 supporters
unions and nine chapters in the region to join hands together to enable the
region realize its target.
Ms. Victoria Doku,
National Women's Organiser of the Club's Supporters Union called on women in
Brong-Ahafo to involve themselves in the fund-raising
exercise by contributing to it, saying "no amount of voluntary
contribution is small". An amount of ˘10m was realized during an appeal
for funds.
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Kotoko, Goldfields fans commend Asantehene
Nkawie (Ashanti Goldfields)
The executives of the two clubs
made the recommendation at their general meetings held at Nkawie
at the weekend. They called on supporters of the two clubs to stop every
negative activity likely to derail the efforts of the Asantehene and to ensure
that their utterances create a new chapter of unity and forgiveness. The two
executive bodies urged the supporters to use dialogue to resolve issues and to
allow the spirit of fair play to prevail at all times.
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Coach Attuquayefio to quit active coaching
Speaking at the Accra Sports
Stadium at the weekend, Atuquayefio who is one of the
celebrated Ghanaian coaches said, "I've had enough of active coaching and
I think I have no regrets at all with my achievements so far. I think its time
I leave the field for other young coaches to take up the challenges because age
is also catching up on me". Sir Attuquayefio stated.
According to Attuquayefio, he is
not quitting soccer entirely because he would impart his rich experience and
knowledge with young players at
Commenting on his long cherished
desire to be the future Chief Executive of Accra Hearts of Oak, the coach did
not mince words of his desire to grab the opportunity when it presents itself.
"As everybody knows I have registered my name for that position already
and there is no way I would refuse it when the I'm
called upon to do the job".
Coach Attuqayefio
is on record to be the only coach to have guided
Coach Attuquayefio also led
Hearts to win three premier league trophies and knockout competition during his
stay with Hearts. The coach has also won many honours including SWAG Coach of
the year, GFA coach of the year and
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Mighty Stars unbeaten record broken
Agogoso (Ashanti Region)
Right from the blast of the
whistle, the two impressive sides made attempts at goal, but wasted a
corner-kick apiece in the opening eight minutes. Great Mighty Stars' Kofi
Yeboah and Awudu Issaka had
great opportunities but wasted them in the 15th and 16th
minutes respectively.
Green Eagles who were determined
to break the unbeaten record of Mighty Stars had their first goal in the 20th
minute through centre forward, Kwaku Manu's close
range grounder. Man-of-the match Stephen Oduro (not
of Kotoko fame) made it two at the closing stages of the game.
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Red Lions beat Western Show Boys
Sepaase (Ashanti Region)
Show Boys played a good a
passing game to the envy of Lions fans in the first 10 minutes, but were unable
to make any threatening move. The western team initiated some dangerous moves
mid-way in the first half to fetch the opener but were unfortunate on several
occasions until the second half.
Outside right, Kwaku Nimo gave a powerful shot
in the 50th minute for the first goal and in the 89th minute striker
Isifu Alhassan scored a
controversial goal to make it two. The player used his hand to push the ball
into the net but was not noticed by either the assistant referees or the
middleman.
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Looking beyond Burkhard Ziese
Daniel Kenu
The expatriate coach later
reported the matter to the world's soccer governing body, FIFA, for unfair
treatment, but what has become of it is unknown. Ziese
is expected back in the country after the interview by the end of this week to
finalise his contractual agreement with the Ghana Football Association (GFA)
for a year's deal. One wonder's though what a coach can do within a year.
Whatever it is, the first headway has been made and I can only hope that
This year is a busy one - the
country has to prepare an Olympic team to represent the nation at the Abuja All
Africa Games in October, the qualifiers for the Africa Nations Cup would
continue and the qualifiers for next year's Athens Olympics games would soon
kick-start not to talk of women's world cup in
One wonders whether apart from
the coach for the Black Stars, the GFA has appointed anyone to take care of the
Olympic team, or is the German going to double as both the helmsman of the
Black Stars and the Meteors? Remember,
Wouldn't it be prudent if indeed
the German is going to be tasked with the handling of Black Stars that the
Meteors is given to Coach Emmanuel Kwesi Afranie who the GNA Sports gathered placed second at the
interview?
Remember that most of the
current Meteors squad are grandaunts from the under-20 team that won silver in
I don't think anyone is against
the idea of employing an expatriate coach, but in doing so, Ghanaian coaches,
at least the good ones, should not be made to look incompetent, unimportant and
unwanted.
Certainly, not all Ghanaian
coaches are good but at least, those who have been able to stand the test of
time like the Afranies, the Attuquayefios
and the Ardays should be brought back into the fold
to revitalise the Ghanaian soccer.
While looking at all these, the
GFA should make a conscious effort at helping to improve on the technical
abilities of the local coaches. Isn't possible for the GFA for instance to
organise a refresher course for selected coaches and later attach them to some
top foreign clubs like Manchester United and Bayern
Munich?
After a year's rigorous
practical attachment with these top European clubs it would in no doubt sharpen
the skills of our coaches and help them read the game better. They could be
attached to any of the national teams on their return to bring their experience
to bear on our national team.
There is no doubt that if this
initiative is adopted and vigorously pursued, there would be no need to spend
thousands of dollars on expatriate in fives years to come. Remember, no
condition is permanent, for we might not be able to afford an expatriate coach
in the future hence it is better we find a way of improving our own and
encouraging them, for, they can also do it.
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Sharks succumb to "God is king"
Cape Coast (Central Region) 24
February 2003 - Elmina Coconut Grove Sharks played a
fluent game but succumbing to 0-2 to Kasoa-based God
Is Great F/C in their central region second division super zonals
at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium on Saturday.
Sharks attacked first and seized
the mid field with short and accurate passes but their forwards failed to
utilize chances that came their way. God Is Great forced the tide in their
favour in the 25th minute and dictated the pace until the 33rd
minute when outside left; Francis Allen broke the deadlock with a header in a
goalmouth tussle.
The kasoa
team maintained the pressure and in the 40th minute, Allen who played a
yeoman's game collected a pass from the left flank to increase the tally to
2-0.
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Tabi wins Achimota Captain's prize
Accra (Greater Accra) 24
February 2003 - Charles Tabi defeated Douglas Zomelo on count-back after they had both returned 68 net, to
win this year's Achimota Golf Club Captain's Prize competition played at
the Achimota Golf Course in Accra on
Saturday.
Abdul Rashid Alhassan
also beat David Hampton on count-back when they returned 69 net to take the
third position while Kofi Dickson placed fifth with 70 net. Janet Hill won the
Ladies event with 71 net, Suzie Kumasah came second
with 75 net, Wilhelmina Aggrey was third with 76 net while A. Nelson took the
fourth position with 77 net.
The one-day 18-hole stable-ford
competition which was opened to amateur members of the club, was sponsored Mr Jeoff Fisher, Captain of the club. Fisher, whose term of
office ends at the end of March, this year, praised members of the club for
their immense contribution since he assumed the captaincy barely two years ago.
He said he would impart his vast experience gained to the club. About 120
golfers took part in the competition.
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