- Elsewhere on the day, Liberty Professionals survived the scare at home as they came from two goals down to divvy the spoils with Legon Cities FC
As expected, the highly anticipated 2019/20 Ghana Premier League season kicked off yesterday with several teams and players showing no effects of the long layoff and pulling some incredible feats away from home.
In Accra, Winger Jonah Attuquaye’s first half strike (34) condemned Accra Hearts to an opening day loss as Berekum Chelsea held on for the full points. Attuquaye pounced on a through pass from Braimah Mohammed in midfield before beating defender Robert Addo and curling home past Richmond Ayi in goal for Hearts for a goal’s advantage at the break. Upon resumption, substitute Kofi Kordzi saw his left-footed effort jangle off the bar and though playing second fiddle to their hosts, Hearts saw a penalty appeal waved off at the 42nd minute mark and an obvious 78th minute foul in the box on striker Joseph Esso also ignored. The Berekum Blues saw a 43rd minute headed goal ruled offside and a lack of purpose upfront, between Jonah Attuquaye and Kofi Owusu saw them waste a couple of good scoring chances. 2017 Premier League champions – Aduana Stars got off to a perfect start at home as they pummeled visiting Inter Allies to a 4-0 submission with striker Yahaya Mohammed completing his hat-trick on 72 minutes and Justice Anane scoring the other. And Kumasi Asante Kotoko, also got off to fantastic start with Justice Blay’s second-minute header holding up for 90 minutes plus against an unyielding Eleven Wonders side that fought in vain for the equalizer.
Ghana Premier League Week 01 Standings
AshantiGold SC picked up from where they left off last season with a 3-0 home rout of Accra Gt. Olympic. It was an end to end affair early on as both sides prodded for the opener, but it was Ashantigold who broke through with defender Yusif Mubarak scoring the opener after 17 minutes. Gt. Olympics held off the pressure from the Miners but then they capitulated 21 minutes later on with former Kotoko skipper Amos Addai increasing the tally to give the Miners a two-goal advantage at the break. Gt. Olympics upped their game but Shafui Mumuni converted a 67th minute spot kick to deflate whatever hopes they had of getting back into the game. AshGold could have run amok on their guests but were unable to convert several chances that came their way. At the Fosu Gyeabour Park in Bechem, hosts Bechem Utd put up a resolute performance to dispatch Elmina Sharks by two goals to nothing. With the Sharks a man down, following a second caution to Ibrahim Suraj, the Hunters went ahead shortly before the break. A beautiful 79th minute combination between Hafiz Konkoni and Adu Kwabena, saw the latter hit home to seal a well-deserved victory for his side. And new FA Boss, Kurt Okraku, saw his team got off to a great start as they overwhelmed King Faisal by four goals to one at home. Following a goal’s advantage courtesy of Emmanuel Ocran just before the break, the home side started the second half strongly with Emmanuel Ocran making it a double at the 52nd minute mark with a sublime finish after connecting to a splitter from Issah Ibrahim, before the latter made it 3-0 at the 65th minute mark. The visitors mounted a comeback and pulled one back through Lateef Mohammed in the 77th minute, but it was short-lived as substitute Dantani iced the game with just five minutes to go.
Elsewhere on the day, Liberty Professionals survived the scare at home as they came from two goals down to divvy the spoils with Legon Cities FC. Earlier, goals from Sulley Sadick and captain Jeffery Degorl in the 24th and 69th minutes respectively had given the guests a comfortable 2-0 lead, before strikes from Elvis Kyei Baffuor (77) and Michael Ampadu (89) leveled up matters. Visiting Medeama SC could not have asked for a better start to the season as they destroyed their hosts – Ebusua Dwarfs – by three goals to one. Ebenezer Ackhabi, Prince Opoku Agyemang and Nana Kofi Babil scored for Medeama SC. Dwarfs got their consolation goal in the second half via a spot kick. And Karela FC failed to reproduce the magic that got them off to a fantastic home start the last time around as they lost by a lone goal to WAFA FC. Forson Amankwah’s 60th minute goal ended up being the difference maker as the Academy lads got their season off to a fantastic start.
Ghana Premier League Week 01 Scores At A Glance
Accra Hearts of Oak SC 0-1 Berekum Chelsea FC – Accra Sports Stadium
Aduana Stars FC 4-0 Inter Allies FC
Asante Kotoko SC 1-0 Eleven Wonders FC – Baba Yara Sports Stadium, Kumasi
Ashantigold SC 3-0 Great Olympics FC – Len Clay, Obuasi
Bechem United FC 2-0 Elmina Sharks FC - Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park
Dreams FC 4-1 King Faisal FC – Dawu Park
Ebusua Dwarfs FC 1-3 Medeama SC – Cape Coast Stadium
Karela United FC 0-1 WAFA – Akoon Park, Tarkwa
Liberty Prof FC 2-2 Legon Cities FC – Carl Reindorf Park, Dansoman
