Annor Boakye scored an absolute stunner in added time as Bechem United scored two second half goals to defeat Liberty Professionals 2-0 on match day 18 of the Ghana Premier League at the Fosu Gyeabuor park on Sunday.
Emmanuel Annor and Annor Boakye got on target to give Bechem United a great start to life in the second round of the 2020/21 Ghana Premier League.
The home side took the lead, 16 minutes inside the second half through Emmanuel Annor before capping a fine display with a brilliant strike from Annor Boakye in added time.
Liberty Professionals looked the hungrier of the two sides as they put up a superb display to stop their opponents from scoring taking the game scoreless first half.
The Dansoman lads paid for their wastefulness, especially in the first half.
Emmanuel Annor’s first goal dealt them a huge blow.
The hosts continued to press for the second goal, and scored in added time with just the final kick of the match as Annor Boakye sealed victory with a thunderous strike.
Bechem United have moved to 7th place with 27 points.
The result leaves Liberty Professionals in the bottom half of the table as they sit in 17thplace with 15 points.
Umar Basiru’s deflected goal gave Karela United a late equalizer against AshantiGold SC on match day 18 of the Ghana Premier League at the CAM Park on Sunday.
Karela United who led the standings before the commencement of the second round of the League lost their place to Great Olympics on Friday and needed to win to reclaim the top spot.
But the Aiyinase based side had to dig deep to pick a point against AshantiGold, a side they drew 2-2 with, in their season opener at the Len Clay stadium in Obuasi.
Captain Umar Basiru denied AshantiGold the maximum points as his shot deflected to beat goalkeeper Kofi Mensah who made his first start of the season after joining in the second window.
Diawisie Taylor, Umar Basiru, Sadiq Alhassan, Richard Berko and Kwame Boateng started against the Miners.
For AshantiGold, Kofi Mensah and Gordon Kusi Brokelyn made their debut appearance on Sunday. Kusi Brookelyn joined from Division One side Asokwa Deportivo while Kofi Mensah signed as a free player after ending his contract with Zambian side Power Dynamos.
AshantiGold SC took the lead in the first half through Seth Osei in the 38th minute following an excellent counter attacking move.
Goalkeeper Kofi Mensah made a spectacular save to deny his former club the equalizer on the stroke of half time as Karela United ended the first half with a 1-0 deficit.
The hosts tried getting back into the game but their marauding attempts proved futile.
Diawusie Taylor had an opportunity to draw Karela level with a penalty but Kofi Mensah once again pulled a sensational save in the 75th minute to deny them the equalizer.
Karela finally pulled parity in additional time after a shot from Umar Basiru deflected to beat goalkeeper Kofi Mensah in posts, this time the former Karela man conceded in the game.
Karela United stay in second place with 32 points, one point behind Great Olympics, while Ashanti Gold SC drop to 12th with 23 points.
Inter Allies rallied from behind to draw 1-1 with Dreams FC on match day 18 of the Ghana Premier League at the theatre of Dreams, Dawu on Sunday.
The two teams needed the three points for various reasons but it was Inter Allies who needed it badly to save their campaign.
Joseph Esso scored from the spot in the five minute of the game to take his season tally to 11 goals from 18 games. Agyenim Boateng was fouled in the box as he tried to meander his way into the goal area of Inter Allies.
Esso elected himself and planted the ball into the bottom corner, beyond the reach of goalkeeper Rashid Seidu.
The goal lasted for only 10 minutes as Richard Arthur fetched the equalizer for the visitors in the 15th minute of proceedings.
Acting coach of Inter Allies, Felix Aboagye named a strong line-up for the game, bringing in returnees Gockel Ahontor and Samuel Armah. There were places for Emmanuel Agyemang Badu, Richmond Lamptey, Hashmin Musah and goal scorer Richard Arthur as new recruit Ivan Anokye Mensah also made his bow.
Ibrahim Issah, Joseph Esso and Agyenim Boateng started in a front three for Dreams FC. Captain Abdul Jalilu played in a backline with the likes of Philemon Baffuor, Sulemana Mohammed and Abdulai Ibrahim featuring, while Maxwell Arthur and Victor Oduro played in midfield.
Chances were far and few in the game especially after the two first half goals but the teams pushed for the winner in the second half but fluffed the chances that came their way.
Issah Ibrahim, Agyenim Boateng and Joseph Esso all came close but failed to convert. Inter Allies substitute Abdul Nasiru was put through by Richard Arthur inside 83 minutes but the forward blasted it wide.
Dreams FC have dropped out of the top four, now in the 5th spot with 27 points, while Inter Allies stay in the foot of the table with 13 points.
Accra Hearts of Oak scored in either half to beat Aduana Stars 2-0 on match day 18 of the Ghana Premier League at the Accra Sports stadium on Sunday. Victor Aidoo and a Hafiz Adam own goal ensured new Coach Samuel Boadu makes it two wins out of two games.
Benjamin Mensah started his first game in two seasons for the Phobians with Richmond Ayi and Richard Attah unavailable.
William Dankyi played at left back in place of Congolese International Raddy Ovouka, who arrived late from International duty.
New signings Benjamin Tweneboah, Nurudeen Abdulai, Alex Boakye and Kingsley Brefo were given roles in the Aduana starting line-up.
After dominating play in the opening half of the game, Hearts of Oak got their well-deserved goal inside 30 minutes through Victor Oduro to register his 7th goal of the season Winger Razak was fouled in the box by defender Abdulai which resulted in the penalty.
Hearts benefited from an own goal by Hafiz Adams in the 90th minute to seal victory and moved 3rd in the league standings with 30 points.
King Faisal drew blank with WAFA on match day 18 of the Ghana Premier League at the Ohene Ameyaw Park at Techiman on Sunday.
The home side who made some incredible additions to their squad for the second round of the campaign following a sloppy first half were forced to make three substitutions in the first half.
Kwadwo Frimpong headed wide a Paul Aidoo cross in the first half. But WAFA responded when Lawrence Agyekum sent in a good cross from the left side, Augustine Boakye failed to finish off the cross.
At this point, the visitors were on top and should have taken the lead but debutant, Abdul Basit Siedu, messed up the opportunity as his ball went wide.
King Faisal were forced to take off Toufiq Razak and replaced by Atta Kusi. Sulley Mohammed also came on for Kwame Peprah after the forward signaled he could not continue and inside 37 minutes, Franklyn Osei had to be replaced by Ahmed Alim.
Before the half time whistle, Enock Asubonteng went close for WAFA but his shot went off target.
Enoch Morrison of King Faisal was handed a golden opportunity to score but he blew that chance.
WAFA are in the mid table with 23 points sitting in 11th place while King Faisal occupies the 16th position in the log with 18 points.
Alex Boakye drops his Captain’s armband and sits down. He and his team-mates from Chelsea’s under-10s have been called by their coach after a lacklustre performance. Chelsea had just played a 1 – 1 drawn game with their arch rivals ‘Old Town Arsenal in a home encounter which saw the captain score the equaliser at the Offinso Old Town sports complex.
Near the football pitch was a classroom which the home team used as their dressing room. Their coach, George Sarpong, was there to meet his players and discuss their ambitions. When asked what he wants from football, Boakye’s reply comes without hesitation. “I want to play for The Black Stars, and I want to play for one of Ghana’s top clubs,” he says. “I want my family to be proud of me.”
Aged 19, he has achieved one of those feats and his debut for Aduana stars against Hearts of Oak in the Accra sports stadium on Sunday was his latest footballing landmark. The versatile defender played the entire 90 minutes in a match that his side lost by two goals to zero. Whether he will have many more at the club remains to be seen, with reports suggesting he was being chased by a lot of clubs before he joined the Dormaa based outfit. He is, it seems, wanted by many of Ghana’s leading clubs. “I would’ve signed him to Kotoko if i had the power over transfers” – a very reliable source disclosed to me that a current Kotoko coach revealed to him during a discourse three days ago.
Being at the centre of such a high-stakes transfer saga is a world away from the environment in which Alex Boakye gained his earliest footballing tutorials. In fact, that came in the cages – Old town, a community in Offinso known to have seen greater footballing talents yet failed to bring any in the limelight. That known, he would leave his beloved town to Ahenkro on daily basis only to train and return home when he finishes the exercise.
The commute from Offinso to Ahenkro was too long to be feasible daily, and so came the first of many sacrifices the young Alex Boakye would make in pursuit of his dream: he left his family home and moved to Aburaso, a town in the suburb of Kumasi to play for Sampdoria; a colts side at Agric Nzema. His exceptional performance earned him a move to GMG academy where he travelled to Belgium for trials.
From Belgium, he was reunited with his former gaffer, George Sarpong, who took him back to Offinso Ahenkro to play for a division three club, Afigya Barcelona. The mercurial defender qualified the team to division two during his short stint there and then moved to Techiman City for a season long loan before joining Aduana stars in the just ended transfer window.
Hussein Frimpong Kaka was an attacker in Chelsea's academy and a schoolmate of Alex Boakye. "He's always mentioned big clubs – Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG," Kaka tells footy.ghpush.com/. "It was always part of his plans. He sacrificed his youth for football."
This writer admits there was so much internal hype over Alex Boakye at his days with Old Town Chelsea, but when he first saw the defender in action as a 10-year-old, he was in no doubt he’d seen a future star. “I just remember everything being so smooth and elegant for Alex,” says Tabi Adade Messi who used to drill the Tutuasi team to face Boakye’s Anou side in Christmas Galas’. “He never gets tired. When a players drop a shoulder, no-one moves but when Agumba does it, people fall over.
“What I liked about him was his fearlessness. He was always looking to take players on, to try new things and be creative.” Andrews Oppong who’s a sport journalist remarked after watching him play for Old Town in a match at the Offinso State A park.
To continue improving, Alex Boakye needed to be challenged, and nobody was more aware of that than the player himself. Coach George Sarpong would often set up uneven teams for training games, testing his players in matches of nine against seven or 10 against six. Alex Boakye always wanted to be on the side with fewer players. And when the coach reversed the usual dynamic one time – insisting the winners, rather than the losers, were to do punishment sprints – Agumba was just as determined to be victorious as ever and led his team through the forfeit.
“The good thing was he came and didn’t think he was anybody superior in my team – he just wanted to train and work hard.”
“What you’ve seen of him is nothing compared to what’s to come.” – Kalusha who’s the team manager of Afigya Barcelona told me in an interview with him yesterday.
Look, for a tiny 10-year-old to confidently discuss his football dreams alone with his coach in that school dressing room is one that you don’t see much among football talents in Offinso. Now, unlike his colleagues, Alex Boakye imagined his dream and is living it just at the age of 19. Agumba’s story is one of opportunities seized, his success is a triumph of will as much as talent.
KELECHI IHEANACHO EXTENDS HIS STAY IN THE EAST MIDLANDS, ENGLAND : by Hassan Frimpong Loveman
Sunday Apr 04, 2021. 16:59
Leicester City have rewarded in-form forward Kelechi Iheanacho with a new deal.
The Foxes announced on Saturday that Iheanacho has signed a new contract that will keep the Nigeria international at the Premier League club until 2024.
Iheanacho has scored 12 goals in 29 appearances across all competitions for Leicester this season.
The 24-year-old, who moved to King Power Stadium from Manchester City in 2017, was named as the Premier League Player of the Month for the month of March after netting five times in three matches – a tally which includes a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Sheffield United.
“I can’t express how I’m feeling. I’m excited, I’m happy, I’m overwhelmed! It’s a great moment and I’m happy that Leicester City gave me a new contract,” Iheanacho told Leicester’s official website.
“It’s been a great time here. It’s not been easy, but there’s a lot of people here that are good people, great people to work with. They are nice people and they make me feel comfortable and welcome since I came in.
“It’s been really great being here. It’s like a family. I’m happy being here and hopefully I can stay here for many more years.
Kelechi Iheanacho was in action for Leicester City yesterday as two second half goals from Benjamin Mendy and Gabriel Jesus condemned the Foxes to their first loss in four matches across all competitions. Brendan Rodgers impressive side lie third on the league log as the foxes eye a spot in the top four to secure a place in the champions league come May.
Head Coach Samuel Boadu has been intensely preparing for what would be his second game since he took over from Serbian tactician Kosta Papic.
The former Medeama gaffer thumped the Academy Boys, WAFA 4-0 in his first game and since had enough time to drill his tactics into the team during the break.
Abdul Aziz and Maname Lawali remain the only injury concern as they continue their journey back from their injuries.
Left Back Raddy Ovouka has rejoined his teammates after his wonderful exploits with the Congolese national team in the just-ended International Break. Richard Attah and Mohammed Alhassan are also with the team after making the trip to Uzbekistan for the Blackstars B friendly. Caleb Amankwah could make his debut on Sunday after training extremely well with the squad during the week.
It is a tough one for the Phobians even though they have lost once at home this season as Aduana Stars are unbeaten in their last 5 games against them.
Below is a full list of the squad for the game
GOALKEEPERS: Benjamin Mensah, Benjamin Yeboah
DEFENDERS: Mohammed Alhassan, Robert Addo, Fatau Mohammed, Raddy Ovouka, William Denkyi, James Serwornu, Nuru Sulley, Larry Sumaila, Caleb Amankwah
MIDFIELDERS: Benjamin Afutu Kotey, Frederick Ansah Botchway, Abdul Manaf Gumah, Emmanuel Nettey, Salifu Ibrahim, Michelle Sarpong, Eric Dizan, Dominic Eshun
STRIKERS: Patrick Razak, Abednego Tetteh, Victor Aidoo, Isaac Mensah, Kojo Obeng Junior, Daniel Afriyie.
