Olympics
would start stronger next year - Duncan
Hearts revel at sixth
straight title
Goalie
Osei Boateng to play in Morocco
GHALCA
‘Top Four’ tournament slated for January
It was tough but we
survived - Hearts coach
Ishmael Addo trains with
Hearts
Irabor
wins Tamakloe Memorial golf
Olympics
would start stronger next year - Duncan
Accra (Greater Accra)
12 November 2002 - Coach David Duncan of Accra Great Olympics has expressed
confidence that his team would start next year’s premier league on a stronger
note.
Speaking to the GNA
Sports, coach Duncan said he is hoping to put an end to the era where the club
wallows in the relegation zone before picking up later in the league since that
trend might not augur well for them.
Coach Duncan said
"If the playing body and the management team would be supportive as they
exhibited this year, then Olympics would enjoy a successful season".
Commenting on the
performance of the team this year, the coach said although his club did not win
laurels, he was happy with the general out put of the team. He said they could
have done better by placing third, but bad officiating especially in away
matches affected their performance, hence their fourth slot on the league table.
The Coach who took
over from coach J.E. Sarpong and managed to transform the team to a win some
side said they could have easily won their matches against Hearts, Kotoko,
Goldfields and other teams but for poor officiating.
He commended his boys
for putting up a good fight in the league though most of them did not start the
league with them. On the future of the team, he said some players would be
recruited to make the team formidable next season.
GRi…/
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Hearts revel at sixth
straight title
Accra
(Greater Accra) 12 November 2002 - Premier club, Accra Hearts of Oak, are six
times premier league champions. Though it may sound quite unbelievable, that is
the exact truth.
"Kwaku Nsiah", as the Phobians prefer to call it, was the new baby
which was officially outdoored and christened during the coronation at the Sunyani
Coronation Park after Hearts’ hard-fought 1-1 draw against local Bofoakwa last
Sunday.
With hindsight, the unprecedented sixth successive championship could be even
sweeter for the followers of the rainbow colours, especially after a hopeless,
jerky and troubling take-off which was characterised by a CAF Champions League
fiasco.
Two characters who will be at the apex of this glory will be the new Chief
Executive, Thomas Okine, and Coach Herbert Addo, both of whom assumed office at
the beginning of the season when times were rough for the Phobians.
Having attained this height- this dream feat, the Phobians are now considering
raising the standards even higher by winning the next four seasons to complete
a decade’s reign.
On their
way to the championship, however, Hearts still maintained the status quo as the
top scoring club, with the least goals conceded. What was even a fitting icing
on the cake was the crowning of two key players of the Hearts- Charles Taylor
and Bernard Dong-Bortey - as the joint top scorers of the season with 18 goals
apiece.
This is a clear case of keeping the goalking title in the rainbow family after
their former striker, Ishmael Addo, had won the title in three straight
seasons.
However, Hearts will be the first to admit that they had been through one hell
of a season following the stiff challenge they encountered from their ageless
rivals, Kumasi Asante Kotoko. As was revealed in the end, the Phobians edged
out their opponents by virtue of the four points they gained in their two leg
affair.
To underline their determination to wrest the title from the defending
champions, Kotoko are on record to have contracted three different expatriate
coaches - Ernst Middendorp, Ian Porterfield and Ralf Zumdick - but all to no
avail.
But while Hearts feature in the Champions League next year, Kotoko will again
have a consolation to compete in the Cup Winners Cup while Liberty
Professionals who have now assumed the position of a third soccer force in the
country contest in the CAF Cup.
For Dawu Youngsters and Maxbees who finished last, their lot can only be a
fitting farewell to division one while Power FC await their unknown opponents
for the play-off later.
Once again, Great Olympics lived up to their ‘wonder club’ accolade by emerging
as the most sensational side in the just-ended league. At a point in the first
round, they conceded as many as six defeats in a row and were lying bottom of
the table.
Then burst on to the scene an unsung coach David Duncan to turn around their
fortunes, completely leading them to their impressive fourth positioning in the
final analysis. Most significantly, B.A. United and Prestea Mine Stars who
joined the elite league at the beginning of the season escaped demotion. While
United were persistent in running within the middle rungs of the table, Stars
had to launch a eleventh-hour onslaught as the only of tasting premier soccer
next season.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 12 November 2002 -
Kumasi Asante Kotoko embark on a fabulous adventure this weekend as they
descend on Morocco with big ambitions. Kotoko face their final hurdle - Wydad
Casablanca - in their march towards their third continental glory.
Back home their followers have their champagne bottles on ice as the countdown
begins for what could be, perhaps, the biggest party in the Garden City since
Papa Arko lifted the African Cup in 1983.
It may be 19 long years since 'Lord Zico' Opoku Nti's left-footed strike
against Ahly brought Kotoko their third continental glory. That unusually long
drought could be over soon, but the Porcupine Warriors must first clear the
last hurdle in their path in Saturday's first leg clash in the Cup Winners Cup
final.
Kotoko's ambitions clash with that of their Moroccan opponents whose coach
Luis-Oscar Fullone also has personal goal for a hat trick of continental titles
under his belt. Even the many die-hard Kotoko fans who would accompany the team
to the North African country are under no illusion about the magnitude of the
task awaiting them in Casablanca.
Despite their7-2 aggregate ramp over AS Police, Kotoko can expect an event
stiffer opposition on Saturday as the Moroccans have been awesome on home soil.
Wydad been riding on impressive home runs that have seen them dispatching
Senegalese side sonacos, Alliance Bouake of Cote d'Ivoire, AS Vita of DR Congo
and USM Alger en route to the final.
With an average of three goals per game in the competition, Wydad have their
axes sharpened for Kotoko, who also hope to ride on their impressive away form.
Saturday's game is very decisive for Kotoko to ensure that their dream is not
derailed.
Under new German coach Ralf Zumdick, Kotoko have shown their famed character of
old in their last two away matches, scoring an average of two goals per match.
He has inherited a side well focused, filled with determination and are also
firing on all cylinders.
Since their last date with Wydad in 1987, the Moroccans have gone ahead to win
the African Cup in 1992 at the expense of Al Hilal of Sudan, but lost the CAF
Cup to Etoile du Tunisia in 1999.
As Kotoko's renaissance enter the homestretch Zundick would be counting on the
predatory form of Michael Osei, the competition's leading scorer, Nana Arhin
-Duah, Shilla Alhassan and wonderikid Kwadwo Poku to power them. These strikers
and skipper Godwin Ablordey have accounted for most of Kotoko's goals and
naturally carry the hopes of Ghanaians.
Zumdick has a good supply of strking options who he expects to be razor sharp
in Casablanca since he needs to ensure that his hitmen fin their scoring boots
while the backline remains resolute to prevent fullone's men from making good
their territorial advantage. A win or at worst a scoring drawn would put Kotoko
on the path to glory on December 8.
Kotoko's early departure for Morocco via Italy should allow them adjust to the
wintry climate in the Mediterranean port city as Saturday's game would be
played at night when the weather is nail-biting cold.
The confidence running through the entire Kotoko family is at fever pitch hence
a good number of their fans are prepared to fork out $800 dollars to board a
chartered flight on Friday to cheer Kotoko to victory.
According to organisers of the special flight direct from Accra to Casablanca,
interested fans would have to provide an extra ¢150,000 for visa processing and
two passport-sized pictures at Speedway Travel in Accra.
The air fare guarantees fans two nights accommodation and the flight makes its
way back home on Sunday.
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Goalie
Osei Boateng to play in Morocco
Accra (Greater Accra)
12 November 2002 - When Kumasi Asante Kotoko’s trusted goal tender, Osei
Boateng, was banned by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) last weekend from
taking part in its organized activities for one year, many supporters of the
club may have misconstrued the decision.
Suddenly, word spread
like wild fire to the effect that the impressive goalie cannot feature in the
two-leg CAF Cup Winners Cup final match against Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca.
That, to Kotoko fans, would have served as a huge drawback to the club’s
ambition to the Winners Cup glory since Boateng had been in post throughout the
early stages.
But the good news is
that Kotoko would have their goalie full in action at Casablanca on Saturday as
the sanction did not affect CAF organised matches. Osei Boateng infact, was
part of the 18-team of players who jetted out of country on Monday night
en-route to Morocco for the all important match.
GRi…/
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GHALCA
‘Top Four’ tournament slated for January
Accra (Greater Accra)
12 November 2002 - The just ended national premier league may have frozen all
the tension and splendour that characterized the domestic scene. But two months
away from now, a four-week thriller would be the focus of all soccer-loving
fans.
The grand stage is the
fast-rising Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA) ‘Top 4’ competition which,
this time, is expected to enjoy the most mouth-watering package since the
contest begun over a decade ago.
Observers have tipped
next January’s event to dwarf all previous ones in view of the quality of team
representation. With the sixth successive league champions, Accra Hearts of
Oak, second-placed and CAF Cup Winners Cup finalist, Kumasi Asante Kotoko,
third-placed Liberty Professionals and the ‘wonderers’ of Ghana soccer Accra
Great Olympics all vying for the coveted trophy, one can look forward to a
non-stop action.
“This is why we are
putting together every bit of work, to ensure we have a magnificent competition,”
Kudjo Fianoo, GHALCA Administrative Manager stated on Monday.
Of the four clubs it
is Asante Kotoko who would vie for honours for the northern sector of the
country and they would have a herculean task of upstaging the three Accra-based
sides of Hearts, Oly and Liberty.
According to the
GHALCA manager, next year’s extravaganza has been effectively designed to rival
the prestigious COSAFA Castle Lager and Vodacom Cup which is held in East and
South Africa, with the winner pocketing ¢25m.
The biggest prize for
the winner of last year’s edition whose real competitiveness was overshadowed,
following its boycott by Kotoko, was ¢10m. Fianoo revealed that consultants of
the ‘Top 4’ event- Logic Communications and EVR Limited, a reputable
Accra-based marketing firms are making inroads in the search for a worthy
bankroller for the annual show.
According to the
competition’s league format, a total of 12 matches over a tentative period of
six weeks would be played on home and away bases with the club that emerges
tops carrying home the ultimate. Attractive prizes for the Most Valuable
Player, Golden Boot, Best Goalie, Best Team (Offensive and Defensive) among
others, also await winners.
Should all go well as
envisaged, all the four competing premier clubs would get cushioned up with
¢10m appearance fees. The rational behind the GHALCA ‘Top 4’ is to raise funds
for GHALCA’s activities, purchase equipment for premier, division one and two
clubs, as well as giving the clubs the opportunity to be in shape and try out
newly signed-on players for the subsequent season.
GRi…/
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It was tough but we
survived - Hearts coach
Accra (Greater Accra) 12 November 2002 - The headcoach of Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting club, Herbert Addo has congratulated his players for winning the league title in spite of the difficulties.
Speaking in an interview, coach Addo said even though they had a lot of pressure from teams like Kotoko, Liberty and Olympics, they were more determined and focused. According to him, he believes his boys were more tactically organised than the other premier league teams hence their ability to win their matches to emerge as winner.
Coach Addo said now the league was over, the team would focus on the future and prepare for the task ahead. He said most of the players would be maintained and those found uncooperative and inefficient would find their way out. He further intimated that other players would be recruited to strengthen the team in order to attain a formidable squad for next year’s CAF Champions League competition.
Asked which player impressed him most, Coach Addo was full of praise for Wisdom Abbey. According to him, Abbey has worked so hard to emerge as one of the leading scorers in the team.
Commenting on Africa, the coach stated that they have only 20 days to get their acts together for the competition, adding that, they have to intensify their training and play some friendlies as they wait for the programmes of the local FA and CAF.
Coach Addo disclosed that the team will continue with their training ahead of the coming season. He was confident that the team would keep up their performance and improved upon it.
Herbert Addo took over the team at the beginning of the season and has won his first premiership title with Hearts. Coach Addo is well remembered for winning the league with Goldfields as well as leading them to the finals of the CAF Champions League in 1997.
GRi…/
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Ishmael Addo trains with
Hearts
Accra (Greater Accra) 12 November 2002 - Accra Hearts of Oak's prolific goal scorer Ishmael Addo, who returned to the country a few weeks ago, started training with his colleagues at Legon last Friday.
Addo, who has not featured for Hearts this whole season due to injuries and trials outside the country, was in full time action at the morning training and as usual, scored a number of goals to crown the day.
The striker told journalists after the morning exercise that he would continue to train with Hearts and possibly, feature for the club next season, if he does not get any foreign contract. He hinted however, that he would be embarking on some trials again between late November and early December.
He said his training with his colleagues was to help him keep to his form, so that he would be able to make a great impact during the impending trials.
After the Burkina ‘92 Cup of Nations, the international star left the shores of Ghana on a four-month loan spell with French side, Batsia. He returned to Ghana upon the expiry of the loan period, but got injured during a training session with the Black Stars under coach Milan Zivadinovic. Addo has since recovered from that injury and was recently in the oil-rich Saudi Arabia for trials.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 12 November 2002 - The 2002 Premier League most entertaining star Charles Kwaku Asante Taylor of Accra Hearts of Oak, left the shores of the country for Germany to embark on a series of trials.
Taylor, the joint goalking with Bernard Don Bortey in the just ended league, left on Saturday and would engage in trials with a number of Bundesliga sides. He is expected back in the country on 15 November to complete his signing for Hearts for next year’s Champions League competition, should he fail to secure a foreign contract.
The striker who gave a lot of defenders and goalkeepers anxious moments this season, played his last league match for Hearts against Power FC where he netted his 18th goal of the season to grab the goalking title.
Charles Taylor was supposed to have embarked on trials in Italy in the middle of the league but this did not materialise as he was focused on helping Hearts to win sixth unprecedented league. Back from Germany, Taylor is expected to embark travel to Italy and Switzerland as clubs agents continue to chase him.
GRi…/
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Irabor
wins Tamakloe Memorial golf
Accra (Greater Accra)
12 November 2002 - Augustine Irabor scored 42 points to win the K.N. Tamaklo
Memorial golf competition played at the Achimota Golf Course in Accra on
Sunday.
Irabor scored 22
points in the first round and 20 in the second round to beat a field of 100
golfers, drawn from Tema, Achimota, Celebrity and Windy Bay golf clubs. Yaw
Assah-Sam came second with 38 points, Tei Mante was third with 36 points,
beating D.J. Martin and A.R. Alhassann on count-back.
Esther Amedzro won the
Ladies event with 39 points, Jackie Martin placed second with 36 points,
Elizabeth Quartey was third with 35 points beating Yaa Konadu Safo-Debrah on
count-back.
The one-day 18-hole
stableford competition which was in memory of Dr Kwame Nyaho Tamaklo, a senior
member of the Club, who died last year, was sponsored by Achimota Golf Club.
Dr Sydney Quartey,
President of the Achimota Golf Club described the late Dr Tamakloe as an
illustrious man whose contribution to the club and the game of golf in general cannot,
be over-emphasised. Mrs Janet Tamakloe, wife of the late Dr Tamaklo, presented
two cassettes titled 'Follow the rules of Golf' to the Achimota Golf Club.
GRi…/
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