Sampson Eduku, the in-form striker for Tamale City FC, has stated that he is not particularly interested in winning this season’s Ghana Premier League golden boots award.
Despite scoring twelve goals for his club this season, including a brace in a recent match against Hearts of Oak, Eduku is focused on helping Tamale City FC avoid relegation rather than winning individual awards.
He emphasized this in an interview with Kyfilla.com, saying that his priority is to make his team’s supporters happy by keeping them in the league.
“My focus is not on the goal king. I want to put smiles on the faces of our supporters by helping Tamale City to escape relegation, but I will grab it when the opportunity presents itself”, Eduku said.
“We have been able to move away from the relegation zone after beating Hearts of Oak, and we will keep fighting till the last game. I know we will stay in the league”, he added..
Tamale City FC is currently sitting in 13th place on the league table with 35 points and will face Asante Kotoko at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi on Sunday, April 30, 2023.
Ghanasportspage.com has confirmed that FC Samartex, who recently made a return to the BetPawa Premier League, are among the clubs interested in securing the services of Francis Andy Kumi, the talented forward from Kotoku Royals.
Kumi is highly coveted by the Samreboi-based club, who will engage in negotiations with his management to sign him ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Samartex is currently 9th on the league table, with 36 points after playing 27 matches, and they hope to maintain their position in the Ghanaian top-flight with just seven games left to conclude the season.
Since joining the Premier League newcomers from Bechem United, Kumi has been on a revival crusade, scoring nine goals in thirteen appearances for the relegation-threatened side.
His impressive performances have also attracted the interest of Accra Hearts of Oak.
The 2022/23 Ghana Premier League continued with match-day 28 fixtures on Wednesday and Thursday.
Former Ghanaian champions Hearts of Oak suffered a humiliating defeat at Tamale City on Wednesday at the Aliu Mahama Stadium, leaving them eight points adrift of the top spot.
The Phobians were lacklustre and were soundly beaten by Tamale City who are fighting for survival, with a 4-1 win that puts them three places above the relegation zone and boosts their survival hopes.
Hearts came into the game needing a response from last Saturday’s defeat at Bechem United, but they went behind after 17 minutes as Sampson Eduku scored after a brilliant run.
He added the second from the penalty spot before the second half. Mohammed Yahaya made it three-nil before substitute Victor Aidoo grabbed a consolation for Hearts, but a late goal from Isaac Mensah ensured the historic win.
In other matches, Aduana marked their home return with a 2-0 win over Bibiani Gold Stars thanks to Kelvin Obeng’s brace. Aduana had served a one-match home ban due to hooliganism and marked their return to the Nana Agyemang Badu Park with a resounding performance.
King Faisal and Bechem United played out a goalless draw, resulting in the Hunters dropping to third.
Medeama reclaimed the second spot after winning a five-goal thriller 3-2 against Dreams FC, with forward Hamidu Abdu Fatawu’s 91st-minute goal securing the win.
Samartex returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Nsoatreman, while Legon Cities also won 2-0 against Accra Lions, leaving them five points clear of the relegation zone.
Berekum Chelsea struggled but managed to record a 2-1 win over bottom-dwellers Kotoku Royals.
Great Olympics moved out of the relegation zone with a 2-0 victory over defending champion a Asante Kotoko at the Sogakope Stadium.
Lastly, Karela United secured a vital 1-0 victory over RTU on the road.
Scores at a glance;
GOLDEN CITY: Berekum Chelsea 2-1 Kotoku Royals
Scorers: Kalou Ouattara,Patrick Kofi Ansu || Mohammed Zakari
Man of the match: Kofi Cudjoe (Kotoku Royals)
NSENKYIRE PARK: FC Samartex 2-0 Nsoatreman FC
Scorers: Kwasi Fosu, Evans Osei Wusu
Man of the match: Evans Osei Wusu (FC Samartex)
AKOON PARK: Medeama 3-2 Dreams FC
Scorers: Jonathan Sowah (2x), Hamidu Abdul Fatawu || Dede Ishmael, Huzaf Ali
Man of the match: Kwadwo Amoako (Medeama SC)
EL-WAK: Legon Cities 2-0 Accra Lions
Scorers: Kofi Kordzi || Ebenezer Armegah
Man of the match: Michel Otou (Legon Cities)
DORMAA: Aduana Stars 2-0 Bibiani Goldstars
Scorer: Kelvin Obeng (2x)
Man of the match: Kelvin Obeng (Aduana Stars)
ALIU MAHAMA: Tamale City 4-1 Accra Hearts of Oak
Scorers: Sampson Eduku(2x, 1 pen), Mohammed Yahaya, Isaac Mensah || Victor Aidoo
Man of the match: Sampson Eduku (Tamale City)
ABRANKESE: King Faisal 0-0 Bechem United
Man of the match: Benjamin Kwesi Asiedu – GK( King Faisal)
SOGAKOPE: Great Olympics 2-0 Asante Kotoko
Scorers: Michael Osei, Emmanuel Akesseh
Man of the match: Christopher Netteh (Great Olympics)
Abdulai Gazale, the interim coach of Asante Kotoko, has admitted the poor performance of his team in their recent defeat to Great Olympics in the Ghana Premier League.
He expressed his disappointment with his players’ inconsistent form throughout the season, which has hindered their chances of defending their Premier League title.
In an interview with StarTimes, Gazale acknowledged that winning the league title has become an uphill task due to his players’ recent uninspiring performances. Great Olympics secured a convincing home win over Asante Kotoko in the match-week 28 game, with Michael Osei and Emmanuel Akesseh scoring first-half goals.
The loss to Great Olympics has also made it difficult for Asante Kotoko to finish in the top four, as they are now five points behind the league leaders. Gazale criticized his team’s attitude in the away fixtures, saying that it is not fair to promise the fans the league title with such poor performances.
“Looking at the awful performance and attitude of the players, I wouldn’t be fair to myself and the fans by promising them the league title,” Gazale told StarTimes TV after the game.
Gazale stressed that his team cannot continue to play poorly and expect to finish on top of the league table.
“Whenever we plan to secure points from our opponents at their home venue, we end up giving away the points. We can’t continue to play like this and expect to finish on top of the league table.”
Asante Kotoko will host Tamale City in the match-week 29 game at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Sunday.
The stop-gap coach of Asante Kotoko, Abdulai Gazale, was frustrated with his team’s poor performance in the Ghana Premier League match-week 28 against Great Olympics.
Asante Kotoko lost 2-0 to the Wonder Club at the Red Bull Arena in Sogakope, missing the chance to overtake their rivals, Hearts of Oak, and secure a spot in the top four. Meanwhile, Olympics are gradually moving out of the danger zone.
In a post-match interview, Gazale expressed complete dissatisfaction with his team’s performance, stating that they should have done better. He was particularly disappointed with the players’ poor display in the first fifteen minutes of the game, which led to conceding two goals.
Gazale criticized the players for displaying such poor performance whenever they had the chance to make it to the top, and he was particularly disappointed with their awful performance in the first half.
“Our players didn’t perform better in the first fifteen minutes of the game. We conceded in the early minutes, which was avoidable. The same situation resulted in the second goal. It’s very disappointing that the players keep displaying such output whenever we get the chance to make it to the top. The performance in the first half was awful.”
Asante Kotoko is currently sixth on the league table and will host inform Tamale City in the next round of matches.
Great Olympics claimed a well-deserved 2-0 victory over Asante Kotoko in the Ghana Premier League on Thursday afternoon, dealing a blow to the latter’s hopes of defending their league title.
Despite having a chance to close the gap on league leaders Aduana Stars, Kotoko failed to impress and were inconsistent throughout the season.
Michael Osei and Emmanuel Akesseh scored in the first half to secure the victory for the Dade Boys at the WAFA Park in Sogakope.
As a result, Kotoko dropped to 6th place on the league table, eight points behind Aduana Stars.
Great Olympics boosted their chances of surviving relegation after seeing off Asante Kotoko SC in a crunchy game in the Ghana Premier League matchday 28 at the Sogakope Park on Thursday afternoon.
The Wonder Club claimed a well-deserving 2-0 victory over the defending champions to move out of the relegation zone as they ignited their fight against the drop at the end of the season.
Olympics gaffer Bismark Kobi-Mensah made two alterations to the team that drew 1-1 with Tamale City in the last round with Abdul Bashiru and Abdul Razak Yussif paving way for Michael Kweku Osei and Philip Nii Sackey respectively.
Stop-gap coach for Kotoko, Abdulai Gazale, made only one change to the team that beat Aduana Stars last Sunday in Kumasi with the return of Mohammed Alhassan in the starting lineup.
Michael Osei got the opening goal of the match as early as the 8th minute after he combined with former Kotoko defender Christopher Nakai Nettey to find the back of the net.
Osei headed home a lofted cross from the fullback to give the Dade Boys the advantage.
Olympics doubled their lead six minutes from the interval through Emmanuel Akesseh, who scored his very first goal in the Ghanaian top-flight.
Kotoko goalkeeper Federick Asare fumbled to save a close range shot from Osei before Akesseh pounced on the rebound to slot home the second goal for the hosts.
Olympics jump two places to the 14th position on the league standings with 35 points, just one above the last three teams.
Kotoko remain eight points adrift of the top spot occupied by Aduana with their hopes of defending the league title gradually fading away.
Manchester City delivered a masterclass to overwhelm Premier League leaders Arsenal and strike a huge psychological blow in the title race at Etihad Stadium.
The confrontation billed as a potential title-decider turned into an embarrassingly one-sided affair.
Pep Guardiola’s side, now two points behind Arsenal with two games in hand, were inspired by the devastating partnership of Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne.
Haaland sent De Bruyne away for a silky opener after seven minutes, and Arsenal then survived a constant bombardment of attacks before John Stones headed home from a corner in first-half stoppage time, the goal given by VAR after originally being ruled offside.
City goal machine Haaland was outstanding throughout and again set up De Bruyne for the third in the 54th minute, the Belgian passing a classy finish between the legs of Gunners defender Rob Holding.
Holding pulled one back for Arsenal late on before Haaland, denied four times by Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale earlier in the match, sealed a memorable night with his 49th City goal.
City can go top with victory at Fulham on Sunday while Arsenal must somehow pull out of a slump that has seen them go four league games without a win at a crucial stage of the season.
