It was all exciting and dramatic at the Accra sports stadium with empty stands as Asante Kotoko welcomed Accra Hearts of Oak in the first leg of the Super Clash in the outstanding Ghana Premier League (GPL) matchweek 14 game on Sunday afternoon.
The much anticipated game ended in a goalless stalemate, characterised by dramatic penalty misses and excellent acrobatic saves from the goalkeepers of both sides. Secondly, the game had lots of debutants, ranging from players down to both head coaches for the two sides, injecting into the game a much more anxiety for the attainment of the 3 points, the bragging rights and recognition.
Asante Kotoko Coach Abdulai Gazale, who was himself making his first appearance as head coach for the Porcupines in the Super Clash, named a lineup that included 6 Super Clash debutants. The new faces for Asante Kotoko included goalkeeper Razak Abalora, Defender Yusif Mubarik, Midfielders Latif Anabila, Emmanuel Sarkodie and attackers Fabio Gama and Kwame Opoku.
Hearts of Oak on the other hand, had head their head coach Samuel Nii Noi as well as striker Victor Aidoo, who joined the team this season making their debut in the Super Clash.
The clock read 15:00GMT and referee Selorm Yao Bless blew for kick off, and Asante Kotoko’s attacker Kwame Opoku gets the game underway. The Porcupine Warriors started the game with high intensity, launching a dangerous attack into the Hearts of Oak goal area. As early as the 2nd minute of the game, Asante Kotoko were awarded a penalty as Kwame Opoku is brought down in the box by Hearts of Oak defender Nuru Sulley. Hopes of Asante Kotoko fans met disappointment as striker Kwame Opoku had his poorly taken spot kick saved by Hearts of Oak goalkeeper Richard Atta.
Accra Hearts of Oak responded positively in the 7th minute when Kwadwo Obeng Junior put winger Patrick Razak through with a tailored pass but Razak’s shot went straight against the woodwork, leaving the home side off the hooks. Hearts midfielder Frederick Ansah goes close in the 9th minute as he tries to dribble past Razak Abalora inside the box, but goalkeeper Abalora rose to the task and blocked the ball with his foot. The rest of the minutes in the first 45 minutes saw hardly created clear chances and referee Yao Bless blew to bring proceedings of the first half to an end.
Back from recess, Hearts of Oak bossed the game for a while but failed to find the net. Asante Kotoko coach Abdul Gazale introduced Kwame Adom Frimpong for Emmanuel Sarkodie after 59 minutes of play to inject more energy into his midfield. Striker Naby Keita was withdrawn for midfielder Mudasiru Salifu.
Hearts Coach Samuel Nii Noi also brought on Isaac Mensah for Kwadwo Obeng Junior, and later brought on Michelle Sarpong for Victor Aidoo. The heat went on following the introduction of Isaac Mensah for the visiting side. Hearts of Oak pressed on and won for themselves a penalty in the 70th minute after Asante Kotoko goalkeeper Razak Abalora brought down substitute Isaac Mensah following a lobbed in ball by skipper Fatawu Mohammed.
Isaac Mensah, who before the Super Clash had been a super sub for the Phobians, stepped up to take the spot kick but his effort was saved by eventual Man of The Match, goalkeeper Razak Abalora for Asante Kotoko.
With just 5 minutes to the end of the 90 minutes mark, striker Kwame Opoku came close to redeeming his image after missing the penalty in the early stage of the game. The striker went pass Hearts of Oak centre backs Mohammed Alhassan and Nuru Sulley but his strike came off the woodwork, leaving the virginity of the game intact.
Tried as both sides did, goals eluded them and the first leg of the Super Clash for the 2020/2021 GPL season ended with no goal to either side.
The result sees Kotoko stay 7th on the table with 24 points with one game in hand against King Faisal Football Club. Hearts of Oak lie 6th with the same number of points as their rivals but with a superior goal difference.
