A glance at the Kinapharma League matches
Standings after the 4th week matches of the Kinapharma league
Six sports personalities to receive awards
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 May 2003 - Six distinguished sports personalities, administrators, coaches and a key industrial company, have been selected for awards at the 5th Ohene Djan Memorial Lectures which come off at the Novotel
Hotel in Accra on Thursday 5 June.
A release from RICS Consult, organisers of the annual lectures said the awardees would be honoured for their contribution to the development of sports in the country.
They are Dr Yaw Nkansah-Gyane, Medical Practitioner and expert on sports medicine who was a former president of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC). He is at the moment a patron of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG).
Walter Esposito, Managing Director of Akosombo Textiles Limited, a sports philanthropist, ex-Managing Director of erstwhile Akotex F/C and a patron of SWAG would also be honoured.
Other awardees include Amarkai Amarteifio, a lawyer by profession who is currently Consular of Swiss Consulate in Ghana and Lt.Col M.P. Simpe-Asante, former Commissioner of sports in the late General Acheampong's regime. He is credited with Ghana's first ever world boxing title triumph recorded by David Kotey Poison and the rehabilitation of the Kumasi and Accra Sports Stadia in 1978.
Odartey Annan, one of the pioneer tennis giants who scored many successes in the sport and played against the great Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith of the US (1972) will also pick an award. Annan captained the national team for eight years and was National All-Comers Champion for 10 years. He is currently the head coach at the Aviation Social Centre in Accra.
Armstrong Agbana, a long-standing boxing coach who produced many championship gold medallist and world champions has also been selected for honour.
Unilever Ghana Limited, which built the Kumasi Sports Stadium as a gift to Ghanaians in 1958 would receive an award as the only corporate organisation in the line up. The seven will be presented with plagues of honour at the lectures to be delivered by Dr. K. Obo Quansah by RICS Consult, Organisers of the annual programme.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 29 May 2003 - The Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Kumasi Asante Kotoko football club, has formed three sub-committees to run the club's African Cup Winners Cup campaign.
They are Ticketing/Security, Protocol and Publicity sub- committees. A statement issued in Kumasi on Tuesday and signed by the PRO of Kotoko, Kwabena Sarpong Akosah said Joe Owusu Ansah, would chair the ticketing/security sub-committee with George Ayisi Boateng and representatives from the military, police, BNI and the Serious Fraud Office as members.
The statement named Nana Yaw Owusu as Chairman of the protocol sub-committee with Alhaji Tanko, Kwabena Nyantakyi, Kwame Amoah Bosompem, Kojo Nyarko and Kwame Owusu Donkor as members. The publicity committee, according to the statement, is chaired by Yaw Boafo while Kwabena Sarpong Akosah, PRO, and Jarvis Peprah are the other members.
Meanwhile, the IMC has approved the rates for the Kotoko-Mount Cameroun one-eight second leg cup winners match at the Kumasi sports stadium on Sunday. The popular stand is ˘20,000, centre line ˘30,000, extreme wing ˘50,000, inner wing ˘100,000 and VIP annex ˘200,000.
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Cape Coast (Central Region) 29 May 2003 - A minister of state in charge of Education Youth and Sports Alhaji Rashid Bawa on Monday announced that government is putting in place a number of measures to develop sports in the country.
He said the measures would ensure continuity of monitoring performance and motivating talents at the junior level competitions to enable them continue with sports to the tertiary level and after.
Alhaji Bawa made the announcement in a speech read for him at the opening of the 14th edition of the Under "12" primary schools inter-regional soccer championship and the second cycle individual school soccer and girls volleyball championships at Cape Coast.
Nestle Ghana limited is sponsoring the tournament under the theme "sports a vehicle for development of a healthy peaceful and united nation". He said governments the world over acknowledge sports as a dependable tool for the development of the individual, community and the nation, but regretted that due to financial constraints some sporting activities are relegated to the background.
The Minister was unhappy that school authorities have relegated the teaching of physical education to he background, such that most basic school teachers no longer teach the subject but only resort to the organisation of inter-house competition and preparation of school teams in the senior secondary schools whiles the teacher training colleges have made the subject an elective amongst a cluster of others.
He therefore suggested that the subject should not be optional but rather a compulsory subject to inject discipline into students. Alhaji Bawa appealed to match officials to do their best by interpreting the rules correctly and asked clubs, schools and other sporting institutions to avail themselves of the opportunity to learn more about the rules and regulations of the games.
The minister reminded the students that in any given situation only one team can be declared a winner in a match and that it was expected that in success or defeat they should exhibit the noble spirit of sportsmanship.
He commended Nestle Ghana limited for their enormous assistance to sports over the years and hoped they would continue to assist them even in a much bigger way in the years ahead. Isaac Edumadze, Central Regional minister, in a welcoming address appealed to students not to get themselves involved in drugs, pre-marital sex and alcoholism.
He advised them to take the tournament seriously and learn to accept the judgement of officials, remain focused and disciplined to enable them excel in their academic work. In the opening match Aggrey Memorial Zion secondary school defending Milo champions piped Koforidua Pope John 1-0, while Brong-Ahafo whipped Cape Coast district 4-2 in the Under "12" match.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region) 29 May 2003 - Power F/C on Wednesday beat Sekondi Hasaacas one-nil in their Kinapharma Premier League match played at Koforidua. Power took the lead in the 57th minute through centre forward, Eric Sefa Boateng who tapped the ball into the net from a corner kick taken from the left flank.
Despite the soggy pitch as a result of showers during the first half of the match, the Sekondi boys (Giants of the West) became more aggressive after the goal and mounted pressure on the Power boys.
However, poor finishing denied them the equaliser even when they came very close to scoring in the in the 66th minute the goal bound strike by outside left Francis Eduhene which beat which beat goalkeeper Alfred Mills in the post for Power hit the upright and bounced back into play.
The Hasaacas players kept trying their luck with a series of long-range shots, which either missed the target or were saved by Mills till the final whistle of the match.
At Kpando, Kpando Hearts of Lions and Accra Great Olympics drew one-all in their mid week Kinapharma premier league match played at the Kpando Sports Stadium. Both goals were scored in the first half through Paa Joe Kumah for Olympics in the 22nd minute and Lions' Abraham Kudemor who found the equalised for the home-boys in the 36th minute.
Kumah put Olympics in the lead through a goalmouth scramble while Kudemor headed beautifully home from Kobla Amewu's corner kick to end the first half. The second half saw both teams in a ding-dong battle with each team making a number of substitutions, which did not in any way change the trend of the game nor their fortunes
In the 52nd minute however, Lion's Ibrahim Iddrisu and Oly's Victor Ogoe clashed in a mid-air tussle for the ball resulting in Iddrisu ending up in the Margaret Marquart Hospital with a cut on the eye-lid.
Ogoe on the other hand had his injury on the head treated on the spot. Both players were replaced by Eric Atikpe and Roger Odamttey for Lions and Oly respectively. Unlike in their first home match against B. A United two weeks ago, patronage was low as spectators complained of the ˘10,000 and ˘15,000 gate fees.
Also in Accra, Fans of defending league champions Accra Hearts of Oak are having doubts in their minds as to whether the team is capable of scoring four answered goals when they meet AS Aviacao of Angola on Sunday in a crucial CAF Champions League second leg match at the Accra Sports Stadium to qualify for the money zone of the competition.
Their doubts followed the teams' one all draw with Obuasi Goldfields in their fourth week Kinapharma premier league match at the Accra Sports Stadium.
For the fans, the match against Goldfields would have been the tonic for Sundays crucial encounter as they expected an improved performance from the team to boost their morale but was not to be as the team missed begging scoring chances in the encounter, especially in the first half.
Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour and Massawudu Mumuni in attack for Hearts on numerous occasions could not utilised their chances in the first half. The two strikers continued with their near misses till the end of the first half and the miners punished them for that on resumption in the 57th minute when Keneth Ababios' free kick zoomed straight into the net with keeper
James Nanor having no answer to it.
The goal gingered them to pile more pressure on Hearts but they could not also find the net. Hearts threw everything into the game with Osei Kuffour, Wisdom Abbey and Awudu Adama storming the defence of Goldfields and this resulted in a free kick in the 75th minute.
Defender Emmanuel Osei made no mistake by delivering a direct one into the net for the equaliser. The miners responded with beautiful passes leaving the Hearts boys to chase their shadows as George Eranio, James Boateng and Nasiru Lamin combined effectively to give the Hearts defence many difficult anxious moments.
They could however not translate their beautiful game into goals while Hearts' attempts at redeeming their image with a win also failed for the game to end with the sharing of the points.
In Sunyani, a second half exhibition of good soccer propelled visiting Kumasi King Faisal to hold Bofoakwa Tano to a 1-1 drawn game in their match at the Sunyani Coronation Park. Bofoakwa drew the first blood in the 13th minute through striker Tahiru Abdulai whose classic shot after receiving a through pass from a colleague beat goalkeeper Samuel Okyere of Faisal.
King Faisal were not perturbed and attacked in bursts, which nearly resulted in the equalizer through Eric Gawu in the 30th minute, but Bofoakwa’s defender “Disco” Nana Gyamfi mowed down the player before he could cause any trouble.
Referee Roger Osabu of Tamale rightly whistled against the infringement but the visitors wasted the resultant free kick. Supporters of King Faisal briefly protested against the referee's decision as they felt the infringement demanded a penalty kick in favour of Faisal.
A minute to end the first half, midfield player Hlima Awudu of Bofoakwa nearly increased his side's lead but his long-range shot grazed the post. After the referee had whistled for the end of the first half and he and other officials of the match were being escorted to the dressing room, one Sumaila Musah, who was later identifies as a "machoman" of King Faisal descended from the VIP lounge and rushed in an attempt to assault the referee for disallowing the penalty against Bofoakwa.
Policemen on duty led by the Sunyani District Commander, Johnson Zu and Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Alex Yartey Tawiah, however, stopped him in his tracks but with a fierce struggle. On resumption of the game, Bofoakwa who were still on top nearly increased their lead in the 54th minute but Tahiru Abdulai wasted a golden chance.
In the 60th minute Owusu Ansah was brought in for Godwin Ablordey to strengthen the attacking force of King Faisal and his presence brought more bite into his side's attack, which resulted in the equaliser in the 75th minute through Ranti Abdulai.
And in Kumasi, Kumasi Asante Kotoko whitewashed Brong-Ahafo United 4-0 in their match played at the Kumasi sports stadium. It was a match, which was completely dominated by Kotoko right from the start of the game.
After the kick-off by the visitors, Nana Arhin Duah of Kotoko missed a begging chance to deny Kotoko the opener in the early minute when he shot wide while Isaac Boakye also missed another chance in the fifth minute.
B/A United also counter-attacked and nearly scored in the 15th minute but goalkeeper George Owu came out strongly to save the situation. However, Nana Arhin Duah opened the scores for Kotoko in the 22nd minute with a low grounder when he perfectly connected a cross from Yusif Chibsah which goalkeeper Ahmed Alahiden failed to grab.
Kotoko continued probing for goals as they put the defence of the visitors in total disarray. The intense pressure made B/A United adopt very tough tackling tactics resulting in many infringements which compelled referee Jomo Ameh from Accra to show Quansah the red card for a foul on Isaac Boakye.
Isaac Boakye headed the kick taken by Stephen Oduro home in the 41st minute to increase the tally to 2-0. Boakye was on hand again to make the score 3-0 in the 45th minute when he connected home Aziz Ansah's cross.
On resumption, B/A United replaced goalkeeper Alahiden with Samuel Quansah who saved many dangerous situations from the slippery Kotoko attacking machinery. Kotoko made it 4-0 in the 55th minute when Aziz Ansah who had moved deep into the visitors vital area scored in a goalmouth melee.
Boakye, who was a thorn in the flesh of the visitors, was substituted by Kwadwo Poku in the 67th minute while Joe Louis also came in for Michael Asante two minutes later. B/A United brought in Alex Djanie for Osman Sakora. Nana Frimpong, formerly of Kotoko, made a last minute attempt to reduce the tally but goalkeeper Owu saved his power-ladden shot.
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Results of Kinapharma Premier Leaue matches
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 May 2003 - Here are the results of some of the Kinapharma premier league matches played throughout the country on Wednesday.
*Accra: Hearts One (1) Goldfields One (1)
Prestea: Minestars (1) Okwahu One (0)
Kpando: Lions One (1) Olympics One (1)
Berekum: Arsenals (0) Stay Cool Zero (0)
Kumasi: Kotoko Three (3) B.A. United Zero (0)
Sunyani: Bofoakwa One (1) Faisal One (1)
Koforidua: Power One (1) Hasaacas Zero (0)
The match between Liberty and RTU would be honoured at the Accra Sports stadium on Thursday.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 29 May 2003 - Leading goal scorers in the Kinapharma Premier League after the fourth week matches played on Wednesday.
3 - Isaac Boakye (Kotoko)
2 - Komla Amewu (Lions) Asamoah Gyan (Liberty) Abdul Mutalib, Messey
Ephraim (Hasaacas) Paa Joe Kuma (Olympics) Eric Sefa Boateng (Power)
1 - Don Bortey, Emmanuel Osei, Amankwa Mireku (Hearts) George Yamoah,
William Tierro, Michael Helegbe (Liberty) Edmund Owusu-Ansah, Nana Arhin
Duah, Frank Osei (Kotoko) Eric Boakye, Kenneth Ababio, James Boateng
(Goldfields) Kwabina Poku, Ben Wilson, Eric Gawu, Eliasu Alhassan, Ranti
Abdulai, Wasiu Mohammed (King Fiasal) Roger Odamteng, Andrew Pomayie, Amuni
Quaye (Olympics) Osei Bonsu (Okwawu) Gilbert Akiyede (RTU) Tahiru Abdulai,
Abieku Aikins, Akwasi Mathew, Tahiru Adbulai (Bofoakwa) Abraham Kudemor,
Yaovi Atikpe, Ibrahim Iddrisu (Lions) Kojo Owusu, Daniel Bomfah (BA United)
Ben Adu Yeboah (Power) Kingsley Kwateng (Hasaacas) Yaw Serbeh, Charles
Benson (Arsenals) Willaim Opuje (Mine Stars)
Chart does not include the scorers of the Mine Stars/Okwawu and Arsenals/Stay Cool matches.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 29 May 2003 - Standings of the 16-club Kinapharma Premier League after the fourth week matches played on Wednesday.
HOME AWAY
P W L D F A ... P W L D F A GD.. pts
Kotoko 1 1 0 0 4 0 2 2 0 0 2 0 6 9
Olympics 2 1 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 1 4 2 3 8
Mines Stars 2 2 0 0 3 0 2 0 1 1 0 1 2 7
Goldfields 2 2 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 2 7
Power 2 1 1 0 2 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 7
Lions 2 1 0 1 3 2 2 1 1 0 2 4 -1 7
Liberty 1 0 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 1 4 3 1 5
Hearts 1 0 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 1 5
King Faisal 2 1 1 0 4 2 2 0 1 1 2 3 1 4
Hasaacas 2 1 0 1 5 4 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 4
B A United 2 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 2 0 5 2 -4 4
Arsenals 1 1 0 0 2 1 2 0 2 0 0 2 -1 3
Bofoakwa 2 0 0 2 2 2 2 0 2 0 2 4 -2 2
R T U 2 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 -2 1
Stay Cool 2 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 2 -3 1
Okwawu 2 0 2 0 1 4 2 0 1 1 0 1 -4 1
NB: The results of Arsenals/Stay Cool match was not available whiles that of Hearts/Hassacas and Kotoko/Goldfields have been rescheduled to 4 June.
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