GRi Sports 03 - 03 - 2003
Hearts, Kotoko tear away
Coach Addo dissatisfied with team despite win
Coach David Duncan back to batan
Razak ready for Hearts
Attuquayefio worried over chain of losses
Sports journalists threaten to boycott LG matches
Amateur boxing clubs to meet
Athletics meet in honour of late Willie Williams
Indece day bicycle ride for Accra
Independence Day golf on March 6
Adisco are Champions
Hearts, Kotoko tear away
Accra (Greater Accra) 03 March 2003 - Two strikes by
ginger-haired Bernard Don Bortey against Great
Olympics, leapfrogged defending Champions, Accra Hearts of Oak to the top of
the LG Top Four Tournament on goals difference though, at the expense of their
bitterest rivals, Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
Both teams are pecked on six points from two matches but
Hearts have a goal advantage after registering two goals apiece against
Isaac Boakye's 49th
minute gleeful low curler gave the Porcupine Warriors a sweet victory before a
packed house, but it was a match that both sides wasted some glaring chances
with Alfred Nii Larbi of
He shot off target before a yawing net just 10 minutes
before the end of the crunch encounter after youngster Asamoah Gyan had beautifully set him up. But those poor shooting
upfront were overshadowed by the superlative display of resilience at the Kotoko's defence by Rasta-haired Joseph Hendricks. No
wonder he won the best player for the second time running.
The match at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday between
city rivals Hearts and Olympics was over by the 36th minute. Bortey who was totally eclipsed by defender Nana Eshun pulled a magic in the 23rd minute when
popped up from nowhere to finished off a move.
Thirteen minutes later, his beautiful free kick, made victory certain for the Phobians, setting cracking stage for the Hearts-Kotoko
clash on Sunday.
The stadium was livened up with the introduction of
Emmanuel Osei Kuffour at the closing stages of the first half. He, however, had
to wait till the second half to show the class he is made off.
His deft touches coupled with occasional scintillating
passes especially in the 70th minute brought the fans to their feet.
Kuffour raced with the ball, turned his marker inside out but his cheeky chip
was parried by the goalie. Olympics Joe Tagoe was
impeccable in midfield but it was defender Issa Ahmed
who soothed the wounds of Olympics by winning the best player for the
afternoon.
Following, meanwhile, is the table after second week of
matches.
Teams P W
D L F
A Pts GD
Hearts
2 2 0
0
4 0 6
+4
Kotoko
2 2 0
0
4 1 6
+3
Olympics
2 0 0 2
1 5 0 -4
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Coach Addo dissatisfied with team despite win
Speaking to the GNA Sports, Coach Addo
said "my boys committed too many mistakes in the game and we need to work
on them before Sunday". The coach said the mistakes were due to their
desire to avoid injury in order to be fit for their match against Kumasi Asante Kotoko next Sunday.
Coach Addo said some of his key
players such Charles Taylor, Massawudu Mumuni and Dan Oppong are on the
injury list, hence his inability to parade a full squad in Sunday's match.
According to the Coach the players looked too dull in the game and this
resulted in pressure being put on them for most parts of the game.
He expressed the confidence that all mistakes would be
corrected before their match against Kotoko adding "my players on injury
list would also be battle ready before the all important match".
Commenting on the match against Kotoko, he said the match
is a very important one which very body would like to see and they are also
attaching importance to it.
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Coach David Duncan back to batan
The coach directed his boys from the touch- line when the
team played Hearts of Oak in the ongoing LG top four competitions at the Accra
Sports Stadium on Sunday. Duncan who's resignation generated a lot of media
hype since he did not communicate his intention to his employers before
contacting the media and declined to talk about his return when GNA Sports
spoke to him.
He said he was not interested in discussing the issue.
"I do not want to talk about that and as far as I'm concern, that topic is
closed for good' he added.
On the match, the back to batan
coach said he was impressed with his side's performance though his side lost.
"We disciplined Hearts and every one could openly testify to that and to
us, today is a great day for us, no regrets at all'.
He said he was not perturbed about the fact that his side
had lost two games on trot and expressed optimism that his boys would bounce
back in the remaining four matches.
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Razak ready for Hearts
It is the second successive victory for the 1978 African Footballer
of the Year, since taking over the coaching job with his former club, Kotoko.
He told the GNA Sports after Saturday's crunch game that Hearts would
definitely be added to Kotoko's victims at the Kumasi
Sports Stadium on Sunday.
The "Golden Boy" admits though, that the
encounter with bitterest rivals Hearts would be his biggest test yet. But the
coach takes solace in the fact that he guided a Malian Premier side Stade Malian to beat virtually the same squad that the Phobians are likely to parade next Sunday.
Kotoko top the LG Top Four Standings with a maximum six
points and a win against Hearts would brighten the club's chances of a
pre-season trophy. He told the GNA "we are plunging straight into training
by Tuesday morning to strategise for the big game".
Asked whether the presence of Bernard Don Boretey, Charles Taylor and perhaps Emmanuel Osei Kuffour
would not be a bother to him, the "Golden Boy said, "they will be contained. All these players were there when I
led Stade Malien to defeat
them right here at the Accra Sports Stadium, the story could be the same; you
know".
Commenting on his side's lone goal victory, the coach said,
"I am proud of my boys. We are not there yet; for we still have more room
for improvement. With tears rolling down his cheeks, Razak
said his players played to his game plan and "I believe we can go
places".
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Attuquayefio worried over chain of losses
Accra (Greater Accra) 03 March 2003 - "Sir" Cecil
Jones Attuquayefio, Helmsman of Liberty Professionals said after his side 0-1
lost to Asante Kotoko on Saturday that the defeat,
his second in the LG Top Four Tournament, has dealt a big blow to his
reputation.
The coach, one time Confederation of African Football (CAF)
best coach on the continent after he had led Accra Hearts of Oak to conquer
He told the GNA Sports that he was unhappy with the results
the team has been producing lately especially over the last two weeks,
"it's a blow to my reputation as a renowned coach". The Coach said
however, that he has learnt his lessons, that it was not prudent to field such
young and inexperience players against big teams like Hearts and Kotoko.
He said it was unfortunate that in his quest to give the
boys the necessary exposure before the Premier League commences, the team
should suffer for it. Coach Attuquayefio, onetime helmsman of the senior
national team, Black Stars, said, "I have the strongest conviction that it
is not over until is all over; we would continue to work on our mistakes until
we get the required results".
He said if the right thing is done the necessary
ingredients included in the squad, "liberty can bounce back and possibly
win the LG Top Four Tournament". The coach conceded however, that the
absence of the team's utility star John Paintsil who
is on a four-month loan with Haifa of Israel, has affected the performance of
the team. But, he quickly added, "I feel his absence has also afforded
other budding talents to be exposed".
"Though we are losing now, I'm hopeful that by the
time the league commences, we would have built a formidable team to beat
everybody.
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Sports journalists threaten to boycott LG matches
A lot of media personnel were manhandled at the main gate
of the Accra Sports Stadium barely an hour before the Hearts of Oak and Great
Olympics match kicked off on Sunday for no apparent reason. The media men had
produced their ID cards to convince the security guards that they were in to
work but the guards would not listen.
In the process, Veronica Commey
of the GNA Sports desk lost her Nokia phone 3310 when she was pushed down while
Andrew Nortey of the Ghanaian Times had his wallet
stolen.
Sequel to the incident, both the print and electronic media
had an emergency meeting with the President of the Sports Writers' Association Ebo Quansah, where it was unanimously agreed that until the
phone and the wallet were returned, coverage of the rest of the matches should
be suspended.
The media urged GHALCA to designate a specific gate for all
media personnel to avoid a situation where they would have to struggle with fans
for space.
They contended that the success of the LG tournament had to
a very large extent, depended on the publicity given by the media and said for
them to be manhandled at the gates was a stab at their back. GHALCA has been
given until the middle of the week to react else; the rest of the matches would
be boycotted by sports media.
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Amateur boxing clubs to meet
A statement by Mr Hamid Issakah, Regional Sports Development Officer said the
meeting is to reorganise activities of the Greater Accra Amateur Boxing
Association for an important assignment. He said two representatives from all
registered clubs are expected to attend.
Some of the Clubs expected are Attoh
Quarshie, Bukom Boxing
Club, Panix Boxing Club, Black Panther Club,
Others are
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Athletics meet in honour of late Willie Williams
According to the organizers, the meet, which is themed
"catch them young", is opened to all aspiring athletes from keep fit
clubs in the Greater Accra Region. The organisers said deadline for the
registration of teams and athletes is on Wednesday 5 March after which no team
would be allowed to register.
Some of the events to be competed are 100, 200, 400, 800
and 1500 metres. There would also be the 4 by 100 and 4 by 400 metres relays
and 5000 metres race walk. Long jump, triple jump and shot put would be the
field events.
Clubs expected to participate are CALL Track and Field
Foundation, Ghost Town Keep-Fit Club, Afienya
Keep-Fit Club, Anointed Keep-Fit Club, Azingoga
Keep-Fit Club, Sukura Keep-Fit Club, Duncans Keep-Fit Club, El-Wak
Keep-Fit Club and
Others are Osu Ebenezer Keep-Fit
Club, Achimota Keep-Fit Club, D Awhenya Keep-Fit
Club, Pokuase Keep-Fit Club, Amassaman
Keep-Fit Club, Lucky Rainbow Keep-Fit Club, Dome Keep-Fit Club, Visco Race Walk Club, Depot Keep-Fit Club, Licence Office
Keep-Fit Club and Panthers Keep-Fit Club.
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Indece day bicycle ride for Accra
A Statement signed Hamid Issaka, Regional Sports Development Officer said the event,
which is to celebrate the 46th Independence Day of Ghana would start from the
The statement said the main objective of the ride is to
provide recreation, improve the health status of the participants and to
reorganise the use of Bicycle as a means of transport. It said participation is
free and open to everybody provided the person has a bicycle. All Participants
are to assemble by
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Independence Day golf on March 6
Jeoff Fisher, the Outgoing Captain of the club who announced
this in
Dr Sydney Quartey, President of the club and Professor
Michael Ben-George, President of the Ghana Golf Association are the special
guests of honour. Meanwhile, the club
would hold their Annual General Meeting on 14 March to elect executive members
for the 2003-2004 season.
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Adisco are Champions
Cape Coast (Central Region) 03 March 2003 - Adisadel College bagged 181-and-half points to lift the
championship trophy in the central region Zone One Schools and colleges athletic
competition held at the Adisadel college sports
grounds on Friday.
In the girls division, Mfantseman
Secondary came first with 117 points. Ghana National took the second position
with 104 points while Christ the
Sam E. Agwu, of
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