Hearts of Oak sink Kotoko in Accra in Super Clash

Accra Hearts of Oak proved too strong for arch-rivals Kumasi Asante Kotoko in their Ghana Premier League week 31 encounter dubbed Super Clash. Billed as the biggest game of the week and counting as the biggest of the season, the door was open for all types of results.

Samuel Boadu and Mariano Barreto each assembled their best XI that they trusted to cause havoc for the opponents and it was a promising display as both sets of players exhibited their skills to the delight of the teeming fans in the stadium.

The match had so much at stake including the bragging rights and more importantly the maximum points to chase championship glory as we enter the tail end of the league season.

And it was a 66th-minute strike from U-20 AFCON winning team Captain, Daniel Afriyie Barnieh that was needed to secure the maximum points for the Rainbow club in a hotly contested match. He scored from a close-range shot inside the box to break the duck for his side.

Both sides made further incursions into the opponent’s area with threats at goal but none could muster what would be the second goal of the match. Samuel Boadu’s side held on to see out the win and claiming four points out of six in this season’s double encounters between the two sides.

The win could prove to be the title decider with just three matches left to end the season. The Phobians who went into the match on top of the league due to superior goal difference now have a three point cushion heading into the next match away to Ebusua Dwarfs.

Kotoko meanwhile will now head into the final three weeks having to win all, starting with King Faisal, and pray for other results to go in their favour. The wait for the 2020/21 league champion is still weeks away from over but the Super Clash has given us a hint and all things being equal Hearts of Oak could be Ghana Premier League champions for the first time since the 2008/09 season.

By: Clifford Adumbire | myactiveonline.com