FootyDream

Eric Esso, the midfielder for Hearts of Oak, is targeting a victory against Bibiani Goldstars this weekend.

The Phobians are set to face Goldstars on Sunday in matchday 21 of the Ghana Premier League, with Esso indicating that the team will work hard to secure a win after defeating Kotoko last Sunday.

“We are taking it match by match, so we will fight hard in Bibiani, and I am confident that victory will be ours,” he stated.

Hearts of Oak returned to their winning ways with a 1-0 triumph over Asante Kotoko at the Accra Sports Stadium in week 20, which also doubled as the President’s Cup.

Prior to that game, the Phobians had suffered back-to-back defeats to Aduana Stars and Great Olympics, respectively.

With 31 points after 20 matches into the campaign, Hearts of Oak currently occupy the 5th position on the league table.

Alhaji Akanbi, a Board Member of Hearts of Oak, has confirmed that the team’s head coach, Slavko Matic, has been instructed to avoid the club.

This statement was made after fans of the Phobian Club prevented the Serbian coach from conducting a training session with the players ahead of the Super Clash against Asante Kotoko on Sunday.

Following consecutive defeats against Aduana Stars and city rivals, Great Olympics, the fans demanded Matic’s dismissal.

Although Matic was not on the sidelines for the match, as the team’s assistant coach David Ocloo led them to secure three points and lift the President’s Cup.

In an interview, Alhaji Akanbi disclosed that the 43-year-old coach has been advised to stay away from the club.

“Slavko Matic has been asked to stay away,” he told Sunyani-based Service Radio.

“We will meet Togbe Afede then we will see the way forward,” he added.

Hearts of Oak now sit on the 5th position with 31 points following the win and will play Bibiani Gold Stars in the matchday 21 games at DUN’s Park.

Emmanuel Newton Dasoberi, the Administrative and Operations Director of Asante Kotoko, has criticized Kurt Okraku, the President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), for his recent comments about low stadium attendance.

During the biggest fixture of the Ghana Premier League, which took place at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday between Hearts of Oak and Kotoko, there were not enough supporters in attendance.

The match also served as the President’s Cup, and the Phobians defeated the Porcupine Warriors to win the title and three points.

In response to the low attendance, the Ghana FA president urged the two glamorous clubs to do more to win fans back to the stadium. Before the game, organizers had to open the gates for free to attract more spectators because the initial number was not encouraging.

“People have simple lost confidence in the league. Stop blaming the two teams for your incompetence. Uphold the sanctity and integrity of the league. Make the league highly competitive and attractive and use the $1m well” he tweeted.

Orlando Wellington, the assistant trainer of Asante Kotoko, has called for fair officiating in the Ghana Premier League following his team’s defeat to Hearts of Oak. The biggest fixture of the Ghana Premier League, the Super Clash, took place on Sunday afternoon, with the Phobians securing the win on their home turf.

In addition to the three points and bragging rights, Hearts of Oak won the President Cup title for the second year in a row with a 1-0 victory over the Porcupine Warriors. Konadu Yiadom’s goal in the 57th minute sealed the win for the rainbow boys.

During the post-match conference, Wellington claimed that his team was denied a clear goal and therefore called for fair officiating in the top-flight league.

“Referees have their part to play, players have their own part to play but as a referee, you have to be fair at the center” he said.

“Hearts of Oak scored an offside goal and the referee denied us a clear penalty”

Despite the defeat, Asante Kotoko are ahead of Hearts of Oak on the Ghana Premier League table but tied on 31 points with Hearts of Oak who are 5th on the log.

Opoku Nti, the former Chief Executive Officer of Asante Kotoko, has expressed disappointment with the current management for changing the team’s traditional red color to green during their recent game against Accra Hearts of Oak.

According to Nti, playing against their rivals in a green jersey was incorrect as the red color is widely recognized as Asante Kotoko’s traditional color and identity.

Unfortunately, Hearts of Oak beat the Ghanaian champions, leading to them earning the maximum betPawa Ghana Premier League (GPL) points and the GHALCA 2023 Presidential Cup at the Accra Sports Stadium.

Speaking about the traditional colours of the club, Opoku Nti sad: “I’ve been speaking about something like the Kotoko colour ‘red-red’. Everyone will expect the red colour wherever you take Kotoko but it has changed to green today.

“You will see them training and playing with it but they will say jersey does not play. Every club has its colours. The identity of the club is the colours.

”Unfortunately, these things are going on but people don’t really care. The spirit of Kotoko is in the red colours. Some years ago you will see and feel the spirit in the red colours whenever the likes of Wilberforce Mfum, Sunday, and other players are coming out of the tunnel. You shouldn’t go for some blue or green jersey and tell us that it does not play. Is unfortunate but we cannot leave the club. We will continue to support them. It shall be well and we know that it will be better than what happened in the past,” he lamented while speaking in an interview with Ghanasportspage.com.