Hearts of Oak claimed their first 3 points of the season against Nsoatreman with a scoreboard figure of 1-0 at the Accra sports Stadium yesterday in a dominant Gameweek 2 display.
An early strike from Kashala Wanet Ramos was enough to ensure victory for Hearts of Oak in a one sided game.
The Phobians’ dominance
Accra Hearts Of Oak put their lackluster display on the open day against Real Tamale United behind them and portrayed dominant attacking prowess against Nsoatreman at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The Phobians were in control from the outset and had the lead after 4 minutes when Ramos Kashala Wanet Capped a sublime free-flowing move with a composed finish. Although his initial attempt struck the post, he sorted the ball under his feet to steer it home on the rebound attempt.
Salifu Ibrahim almost doubled the Phobians advantage on the 24th minute, but Ibrahim’s free kick could only find the side net.
Nsoatreman had little attacking intent about their performance and faced an uphill task when they were reduced to 10 men. Captain of the side, Philip Ofori was sent off after poking Kashala Ramos in the face.
Salifu Ibrahim and Karikari came close to doubling the Phobians’ advantage but their efforts went wide off the target.
The phobian goalkeeper, Attah had little to do in between the sticks throughout the first half but produced a smart stop to deny Nsoatreman’s Felix Hammond before the interval.
Hearts of Oak attacker, Martin Karikari was inches away from extending the Phobians lead after the resumption of the second half, but his 58th minute strike went wide.
Karikari was once again the orchestrater of a lovely team move but this time around, he set up his fellow phobian, Yaw Baafi to wriggle past his opponents in the box before striking the frame of the goal with his powerful left foot drive. Kashala Ramos tried an overhead kick as the ball broke to him from the post but his efforts were in vain.
The best opportunity of the second half fell to Kashala Ramos on the 67th minute when Nsoatreman goalkeeper, Daniel Afadzwu parried the ball into his path but he failed to turn the ball into the net from close range.
Afadzwu made sure Nsoatreman were still in the game heading into the closing stages and produced two stunning saves in the 81st and 87th minute to back the claim. His attempts were futile as he only managed to keep the score line respectable with Nsoatreman eventually leaving the Accra Sports stadium with no points.
Coaches’ comments on the game
Nsoatreman Head Coach, Maxwell Konadu was undefeated against Accra Hearts of Oak in his managerial career prior to the encounter. Hearts found a way to oust the Former Asante Kotoko coach on their 9th attempt.
Maxwell Konadu was disappointed his side came out of the game with nothing to show for but was full of praise for Accra Hearts of Oak.
“It was a good game, very difficult one of course, because we had a red card in the early minutes that made the game extremely difficult for us. But we managed to end the first half, we brought in fresh legs to come and augment the squad but they couldn’t equalize before the end of the game. In general, I will say it was a good game for Hearts of Oak. They won and you can’t take anything away from them, they deserved to win today. So next time, we make sure we remain disciplined on the pitch,” he said in his post match presser.
Meanwhile, Accra Hearts of Oak manager, Martin Koopman was ecstatic following his first win as Hearts of Oak boss.
“If you win, it’s always a good feeling [and] I think we deserved it. We had a very heavy week because everybody was disappointed [on pur last game performance]. We worked very hard and I think this young team deserved the first winning game. The preseason was very good but it’s not a guarantee to follow the competition so I think altogether we deserve the three point,” he said.
On the sideline, Hearts’ Defender, Nurudeen Mohamed made his return from a long lay off, after which he was awarded as the Most Valuable player on the day thanks to his magnificent shift in defense throughout the game.
He was of the view that the victory against Nsoatreman was the step in the right direction, remarking the Phobians’ readiness to earn maximum points on their next trip to Bofoakwa Tano.
“We are on course… on cloud nine; we are on top so you guys (fans) should expect more from us. It’s another win there (Bofoakwa Tano) and we are going to claim it.”
Hearts of Oak lie 9th on the league log whereas Nsoatreman lie in 6th place. They will be set to play against GPL returnees Bofoakwa Tano, on this week’s Saturday.
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Story by: Andrews Sefa Bamfo | univers.ug.edu.gh
