Kotoko triumph over bogey Bofoakwa
Power F/C, Mine Stars fight to a standstill
Maxbees stretch Faisal at Kumasi
Olympics lose fourth game on the trot to Goldfields
Arsenals pip Liberty at Berekum
Dawu, B.A. United draw at Dawu
New coach for the Black Stars officially announced
Boxing-Stephen Okai outpoints Moro Tijani in West African title fight
Accra, May 15, GNA - Okwawu United pipped Real Tamale United (RTU) by alone goal in their rescheduled sixth week Premier League match played at the Accra Sports Stadium on Wednesday. Okwawu needed to win to satisfy their angry supporters after a string of poor performances.
They took control of the game from the start and created many good chances which they failed convert. In the 19th and 21st minutes for an example, Okwawu came close but Paul Amponsah and Osei Bonsu, wasted chances through wayward shooting, respectively.
Against the run of play, RTU nearly took the lead in the 37 minute through Alhassan Weah's daring effort as he stretched to beat advancing Dauda Fatawu in post but the ball missed the target by few centimetres. Success nearly crowned Okwawu's first half efforts when in the 43rd minute when Amponsah's volley from 30 metres rebounded off the goalpost to end the half.
On resumption, Okwawu pushed more men forward and played mostly in the half of RTU, who looked contented with the barren score line. Deservingly Okwawu opened the score in the 68th minute through Isaac Asante, who found himself unmarked in the box of RTU to fire a grounder beyond Dauda for the only goal of the match.
The goal forced RTU out of their defensive shell but it was too late as Okwawu maintained their composure at the back to register their second win of the season.
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Sekondi (Western Region) 13 May 2002 - Defending champions and league leaders Accra Hearts of Oak kept their unbeaten run in the Premier League when they trekked to Sekondi on Sunday to beat homesters Hasaacas 2-1 at the Gyandu Park in a match watched by a capacity crowd.
The match was action packed for most of the time as both sides displayed good football skills giving spectators their money's worth. The encounter was free from rough plays and other incidents that could mar the beauty of the game. Hasaacas, enjoying a massive home support dominated the early stages of the first half but had to contend with occasional pressures from Hearts.
Despite the pressure by the home side, Hearts gained control of the game from the 35th minute but could not find the opener until the end of the first half.
The tempo of the game increased in the second half as Hearts took total dominance and kept firing at goal from all angles. It therefore came as no surprise when centre forward Osumanu Amadu found the net for Phobians in the 67th minute. The rainbows again went 2-0 up through Don Bortey in the 86th minute after running through the defence of Hasaacas, but the Hasmal boys, undaunted, kept fighting and managed to pull one back through Maxwell Mensah with two minutes remaining.
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo Region) 13 May 2002 - An 87th minute goal scored by Nana Arhin Duah enabled Kumasi Asante Kotoko to run away with a lone goal victory over home team, Bofoakwa Tano, in their encounter at the Coronation Park on Sunday.
It was a perfect goal, which Goalkeeper Mohammed Alhassan had no answer to. Substitute Joe Okyere in one of his typical swerving moves eliminated two defenders and passed the ball on to Nana "Oboanipa" Arhin Duah to score for the Porcupine boys. But before the goal, both sides had played it hard with referee Charles Asamoah of Accra failing to stamp his authority on the game.
He only started showing the yellow cards when the match had degenerated into rough play. The first yellow card went to Godwin Ablordey of Asante Kotoko in the 15th minute of the first half. Kwasi Owusu of Bofoakwa also had his share of the of the yellow card before the first half.
Notwithstanding the rough play that characterised the game, the Porcupine boys were the first to come close to scoring in the second minute but Stephen Oduro wasted it. Bofoakwa's chances were thrown away by Charles Benson in the 8th and 12th minutes. Benson had yet a third chance in the 17th minute but his pile driver was saved by goalkeeper Osei Boateng of
Kotoko.
In the 32nd minute Aziz Ansah's in-swinger was wasted by Nana Arhin Duah, while Bofoakwa's goalkeeper was on the ground. In the 43rd minute Nana Arhin Duah again failed to utilise a good chance created up-front, while Bofoakwa's Pasco Amponsah's close-range shot was beautifully saved by keeper Osei Boateng to end first half.
On resumption, Kotoko's newly-assigned European Coach, Ian Porterfield who was facing his second test since he was assigned, thought it wise to bring on Joe Okyere for Nana Frimpong. The change yielded good dividends as the fast and slippery Joe Okyere brought life into the attacking machinery of his side. Anytime he struck, the defence of Bofoakwa became jittery. It came as no surprise therefore when in one of such his moves, Joe Okyere gave a tailor-measured pass on to Arhin Duah who neatly beat goalkeeper Alhassan for the only goal for Kotoko.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region) 13 May 2002 - Visiting Prestea Mine Stars played their hearts out to hold Koforidua-based Power F/C to a goalless draw game in their league match at the Koforidua stadium.
The scoreless game depicted the goal-shy pattern of the match in which the visitors adopted a more defensive posture with a lone man forward with occasional forays into their opponents’ vital area. The Power boys, who on the other hand adopted an aggressive approach seeking the vital three points, wasted all the clear goal-scoring chances that came their way.
The Miners lost Isaac Owusu in the 44 minute for an off ball incident but was caught by Class One Referee Roger Osabu of Tamale. Power earned a series of cornerkicks in the latter stages of the game but failed woefully to utilise any of them including an 89th freekick just outside the 18th of their opponents. In their anxiety to win, Power exhausted their three substitutions while Mine Stars, with their 10 players, made two changes in the latter stages of the game but the score remained barren to the end.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 13 May 2002 - Suhum Maxbees played a determined game to hold King Faisal to a pulsating goalless draw in a sixth week premier league encounter played at the Kumasi Sports Stadium.
Maxbees, lying at the bottom of the league table with two points would have carried the day with at least a two-goal margin but failed to do so due to lack of marksmanship and purposefulness upfront. Masawudu missed a golden chance in the 14th minutes when he failed to connect home a beautiful cross from Wisdom Fofo and Mark Tonto in the 65th minute, with only goalkeeper Samuel Okyere in post for Faisal before him, also shot wide.
It was the monarchs who kicked off under the instructions of Accra based class one referee, J.A. Agbeko and pinned the visitors to their half for a couple of minutes with dangerous moves but the uncompromising defence of the visitor stood gallantly. The visitors sensing danger brought on Shaibu Issah for Wisdom Fofo in the 22nd minute. Maxbees goalie Nartey, limped from thereon and was substituted by Alex Ansah in the 28th minute. The match then became balanced, with both sides playing their best till the end of the first half.
On resumption Maxbees proved that they were a hard nut to crack in spite of their position on the league table by piling pressure on the homestears. They earned two cornerkicks in the 45th,and 49th minutes but failed to translate them into goals. The match seemed destined to end in a draw after Maxbees missed a glorious chance in the 76th minute Faisal's goalkeeper Okyere blundered.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 13 May 2002 - Accra Great Olympics have failed to shed the toga of defeat when they lost their fourth match on the trot to Obuasi Goldfields in their sixth week Premier League match at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.
Frank Awuah scored the two goals for the Obuasi lads when he capitalised on a defensive blunder on the half hour mark and sliced a low one past goalkeeper Samuel Addo for the opener. The young striker who graduated from the Goldfields Soccer Academy scored again in the 64th minute to restore their lead as he tapped in from four yards, after Addo had pushed back a powerful shot from Alfred Arthur.
Olympics got their goal when second string goalkeeper Edmund Attah on duty for Goldfields, punched a heavy delivery of a free-kick on top of the penalty area from John Codjoe and lurking Amui Quaye hammered it into the roof of the net to even scores in the 36th minute.
Goldfields outplayed their hosts and should have won with a wider margin but referee E.M. Alhassan and his second assistant, G.K. Deku both from Takoradi robbed them of many scoring opportunities and indeed disallowed a good goal scored in the 23rd minute by Frank.
Frank had dispossessed a defender of the ball and dribbled past three Oly players before squeezing it past Addo into the net. The referee disallowed the goal when he saw that his assistant's flag was up. Referee Alhassan did not deem it appropriate to consult his assistant even though he was convinced the goal was good and had pointed to centre spot.
Goldfields dominated the match from start to finish with pint-size Ofosu Amoah dictating the pace in attack as he waltzed through the Oly defence at will and shuffled well with Arthur Amoah and Owusu Agyemang to keep the entire home side chasing their shadows.
In defence, Tony Baffour led an impregnable formation in which skipper Eric Boakye and Solomon Laryea played above themselves to nullify any attacking methods the Olympics attackers formulated.
With about a quarter hour remaining, the ball was joggled by the Obuasi boys in the half of Olympics as they appeared content with the score line and unwilling to score. The pressure remained on the Accra team till the final whistle.
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Berekum (Brong Ahafo Region) 13 May 2002 - Berekum Arsenals played a determined game to silence Liberty Professionals 1-0 at the Berekum Coronation Park on Sunday.
Entering the game with great determination, Arsenals made nonsense of the form guide and made Liberty look ordinary for a greater part of the game. The Arsenals defence was well-knitted and putting the brakes on the slippery Liberty forwards. Arsenals who opened fire right from kickoff struck perfectly in the 15th minute.
It was Richard Awuah who gave a neat pass to Adu Poku to register the only goal of the match. Liberty’s Samuel Addo was the only player to attract the referee’s booking for the afternoon in the 55th minute for rough play.
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Dawu (Eastern Region) 13 May 2002 - Brong Ahafo (B.A.) United put up a strong resistance to hold Dawu Youngsters to a 1-1 drawn game at Dawu on Sunday.
Dawu dominated play in the first 20 minutes of the game and found the net in the seventh minute through Paul Ofori. Cheered on by a partisan crowd, Dawu tried to increase the tally but could not penetrate the B.A. defence. The trend changed in favour of the visitors when a thunderous shot by Bawa Mohammed entered the net in the 35th minute for the equaliser.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 13 May 2002 - Mr Edward Osei-Kwaku Minister of Youth and Sports on Friday officially announced Yugoslave national, Zivadinovic Millan, as the new coach of the national team, the Black Stars. Speaking at a press conference, Mr. Osei-Kweku said the coach is yet to be informed about his new job adding that he would be on a two-year renewable contract. He said the coach would earn a monthly salary of $8,000 and an enticement fee of
$10,000.
Mr Osei-Kweku said they are going to charge the new coach to instil discipline into the team to enable the team perform well at all levels. He added that, "If he fails to instil discipline in the team they would sack him". He said they would provide the coach with the necessary logistics to ensure that he delivers adding that an accommodation and an office with a secretary would be given to him.
Mr Osei-Kweku said he would be given a free hand to go about his duty as the coach of the Black stars. He said a new chapter is being opened in Ghana football therefore the press must play a responsible role in its development adding that facts must be checked well before information is given out.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 13 May 2002 - Stephen Okai dominated Moro Tijani and deservedly got by a unanimous decision to win the West African super lightweight title when the two boxers met at the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday. The fight was a one-way traffic, which went in favour of Okai as Tijani appeared scared of battle and back pedalled for most of the 12 rounds, allowing his younger opponent to chase him around, punishing him with some rocket punches.
It was therefore surprising that the judges scored the fight very closely thereby generating a lot of tension among a section of the supporters. Judge J.B. Osabutey made it 115-113 for Okai, Atta Eddie Pappoe scored it 116-116 and Shadrach Acquaye recorded 117-113 in favour of Okai.
The fight, which was supposed to be a dual title fight for the national and West African titles was reduced to a West African championship when the Ghana Boxing Authority (G.B.A.) declared that Lantequaye Hammond, the champion had not relinquished the national title and he had not faulted the rules to warrant being stripped of it.
The first two rounds produced a sterling display of punching power by the two boxers as they bombed and rocked each other with solid shots to the head and midsection. Mid way through the first round, the boxers took refuge in a neutral corner with Tijani lying on the ropes and Okai slugging and trying to dig in. Tijani appeared to be the more refined boxer as he swapped places quickly with his opponent and connected four rapid combinations to the head of Okai.
Okai who prefers to be called 'Ataa Gyata', meaning an old lion, got infuriated and swung a barrage of sturdy left and right combinations and the crowd cheered wildly in approval. The second round was also full of fireworks as each boxer displayed an urge to end the fight by the short route, culminating in thunderous exchanges.
A powerful right from Okai forced Tijani's gum shield drop to the canvas and the referee ordered a momentary halt to allow his corner men to put it back. When hostilities resumed, the boxers stood toe to toe and traded hefty punches and the crowd applauded as the bell went for the end of the round.
From the third round, Okai surged forward and chased his adversary around as he connected some good shots, which stunned Tijani and appeared to have sapped his energy and urgency. There was no doubt from that moment as to the direction the fight was going and it was just a matter of time for Okai to be declared the winner.
Tijani appeared tired and as he beat the retreat, he tried to keep his rival at bay by popping his right hand in jabs, which lacked power and indeed, most of them did not connect. Crowd violence started in the eighth round as rival supporters hurled chairs at each other, causing a commotion at the ringside. It soon died down and the chants and taunts continued from the supporters of Okai.
The penultimate round saw very little action as the two boxers clung persistently in a desperate bid to get breathers. Tijani opened up very strongly in the final round as he engaged Okai in a give and take battle but he soon froze and resorted to the backward ride as the bell went for the end of the fight.
In another title fight on the bill, Sumaila Badu the pride of Fire Service became the new National and West Africa Super flyweight champion when he defeated Asamoah Wilson by a 2-1 split decision. In a fight, which was characterised mainly by fierce exchanges, Wilson and Badu kept spectators on the edges of their seats at the initial stages.
But the former took control in the latter stages of the first round, delivering powerful hooks to the head of his opponent as the bell rang for the end of the first round. In the second and third rounds, Badu attacked aggressively but dropped his guard midway through, allowing Wilson to hit him hard on his body and face.
Badu became game in the fourth round by landing direct punches onto the face of opponent while Wilson also responded with heavy blows to the body of Badu, thereby making this round a balance one. Wilson who seemed to be dominating the fight pushed Badu to the corner for the greater part of round five, punishing him with right and left hooks, which stunned and staggered Badu.
In the seventh and eight rounds Wilson showed a remarkable improvement as he rook the fight to his opponent, looking for a knockout punch. Fortunes changed in favour of Badu from round ten when he opened a cut under the right eye of Wilson during a peak action period in a neutral corner. Badu capitalised on the wound and concentrated his punches there, pummelling his opponent's scared face to draw blood.
Despite the cut and the continuous bleeding on the face of Wilson, he continued with the fight but Badu maintained constant pressure on him. In the last round, which was a display of artistic toe-to-toe power trade, both boxers put in their last efforts, engaging in all hooks, upper cuts and over-head punches as they all seemed determined to carry the day. At the end, judges J.B. Owusu- Ansah, Confident Hiagbe and Bob Sackey scored it 115-113,118-113, and 113-115 respectively, giving Badu a hard win over Wilson.
In other fights of the night put together by Ultimate Promotion and Management Syndicate dubbed "Repeat or Revenge," Anyetei Laryea gained a fifth round technical knockout win over Anyomi Savundra in their eight round bantamweight contest while Alfred Tetteh stopped Aminu Turkson in the second of their eight round catch weight duel.
Abdulai Amidu recorded the second technical knockout on the bill when his Beninois opponent Romet Gilbert gave up in the fifth round of their super featherweight match and Daniel Sackey followed with a first round knock out of Joe Addo in a six round super middleweight fray. James "the Hot Ice" Toney made good his prediction when his opponent from the Republic of Benin failed to report for the fourth round in their international middleweight contest over 10 rounds. Toney is now 13-0 with 12 knockouts.
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