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Hearts of Oak got back on track with a crucial 2-0 win over King Faisal at the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday night in the Ghana Premier League. 

In an intriguing matchday 29 fixture, the 2020/2021 champions had to wait until the 89th and 92nd minutes to claim the crucial points through Ibrahim Salifu who climbed off the bench, and Linda Mtange’s strikes.

Both sides went into the clash having failed to win their two previous games while the Phobians targeted an opportunity to get back into the top four.

There were not too many clear-cut chances as the backlines of the two teams maintained cohesion in a larger part of the game. However, Hearts of Oak refused to give up and capitalised on a couple of chances while the game approached its end.

The win currently puts the Phobians in the fourth position in the league standings with 45 points while they await eight other games to be played on Sunday and Monday.

While King Faisal equally wait for the outcomes of the other matches of the round, they will maintain the 11th position with 36 points.

Meanwhile, Hearts of Oak will hope to maintain the performance when they come up against Samartex next week Saturday, May 6 while the Insha Allah Boys continue to seek a win after three matches as they visit the Tamale Stadium to face in-form Tamale City.

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Coach David Ocloo has disclosed the starting lineup for Hearts of Oak ahead of their match against King Faisal at the Accra Sports Stadium this evening.

In the absence of Eric Ofori Antwi, Richard Attah has been chosen to start as the goalkeeper for the first time in the current campaign. Antwi sustained an injury and was substituted during the team’s game against Tamale City.

Hearts of Oak lost their previous two games in the league to Bechem United and Tamale City, causing them to drop points as defending champions. In tonight’s game, Caleb Amankwah and Addo Sowah are set to feature as the centre-back pair, with Amankwah Baafi starting as the left-back and Korsah on the right.

In midfield, Esso is accompanied by Linda Mtange and Jeordon Otanga, while Gideon Asante, Victor Aidoo, and Isaac Mensah will start up front. Notable substitutes include Benjamin Yorke, Samuel Inkoom, Francis Adjetey, Awako, and Salifu Ibrahim, whereas Konadu Yiadom and Obeng Junior have been ruled out of the match.

The complete starting lineup for Hearts of Oak to play against King Faisal is as follows:

Richard Attah (GK)

Yaw Amankwa Baafi

Eric Esso

Victor Aidoo

Glid Jeordon Otanga

Robert Addo Sowah

Caleb Amankwaah

Isaac Mensah

Dennis Korsah

Gideon Asante

Linda Mtange

Former champions Accra Hearts of Oak will look to get back on track when they face King Faisal on Matchday 29 of the betPawa Premier League at the Accra Sports stadium on Saturday.

The Phobians who suffered their heaviest defeat of the season to Tamale City on Wednesday are hungry for the points after going two games without a win.

Even though Hearts of Oak have an upper hand in recent meetings against King Faisal, the latter have been overly impressive in recent having lost once in their last five outings. Hearts of Oak have yet to win a game in their last two matches following defeats to Bechem United (1-0) and Tamale City (4-1). But have managed to win two of their last five matches – losing two and drawing one.

The Phobians now sit in 6th place with 42 points with 8 points separating them from League leaders Aduana FC.

King Faisal drew their last home game against Bechem United 0-0 and have won two, drawn two and lost one of their last five matches in the league. The Insha Allah boys sit 12^th with 36 points with only 6 points separating them from Hearts of Oak.

The first round encounter ended 0-0 at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium. Hearts of Oak have dominated the last five meetings picking three wins with King Faisal winning one as the other one ended in a draw.

Eric Ofori Antwi is a doubt after picking up an injury against Tamale City. The Phobians will however rely on Salifu Ibrahim, Robert Addo Sowah, Kwadwo Obeng Junior and Eric Esso as Baba Yahaya, Abdul Latif, Joseph Adu Dwomoh, William Dankyi Ntori and Samuel Kusi lace their boots for King Faisal.

The match will be broadcast live on StarTimes Adepa channel 247 at 6pm.

Charles Taylor, a Ghana Premier League legend, has criticized the Hearts of Oak players for their poor performance in the team’s 4-1 defeat against Tamale City.

In a post-match interview with Angle TV, Taylor, who won five Ghana Premier League titles with Accra Hearts of Oak, stated that some of the players did not deserve to be on the team and that 16 of them should be demoted to the junior team.

He added that the players lacked ball control and passing skills and could not blame their performance on the pitch conditions.

“This was a terrible performance from the Hearts of Oak players. Some of the players don’t deserve to play for Hearts of Oak and the same applies to Asante Kotoko,” Taylor, who won 5 Ghana Premier League titles with Accra Hearts of Oak told Accra-based Angle TV.

“You can critically watch Hearts of Oak and Kotoko games and you will see that some of the players don’t deserve to be in the team. They can’t control and pass a ball and you can’t blame it on the pitch because we played on more terrible pitches.

“I’m telling you, 16 of the Hearts of Oak players should be demoted to Auroras and I can list them for you. They are just not good enough to wear the colours,” he added.

The loss leaves Hearts of Oak in 6th place on the league table with 42 points.

The team will play King Faisal in their matchday 29 fixture at the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday.

Great Olympics coach Bismark Kobi-Mensah has revealed that defender Christopher Nettey played a crucial role in stopping Asante Kotoko during their match on Thursday afternoon.

The two teams met at the WAFA Park in Sogakope for a Week 28 encounter of the ongoing Ghana Premier League season, which saw Great Olympics secure a 2-0 win with two first-half goals.

In a post-match interview, Coach Kobi-Mensah attributed the win to his team’s tactical superiority over their opponents, stating that they had “stopped them from playing in the first half” and had implemented a specific strategy for Nettey that ultimately proved successful.

“Tactically, we stopped them from playing in the first half. We have a certain operational work to Christopher Nettey and it worked. We won the game through tactical grounds,” the young tactician said.

The victory has lifted Great Olympics out of the relegation zone, while Asante Kotoko remains outside the top four of the Ghana Premier League standings.