Highlights: Paul Abanga’s own goal helps Hearts of Oak reduce gap between Great Olympics and Asante Kotoko

Hearts of Oak beat Inter Allies 1-0 on match day 20 of the Ghana Premier League at Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.

The only goal of the match came in the 26^th minute when Inter Allies defender Paul Abanga scored an own goal to give Hearts of Oak a well-deserved win.

A much refreshed Inter Allies side threatened with a promising move with returnee Samuel Armah leading the onslaught but it came to naught as he dragged his kick wide.

The Eleven Is to One side controlled the game in the opening minutes causing trouble for the Hearts of Oak backline and Mohammed Alhassan nearly put the ball into his own net in the 19^th minutes, as his attempted clearance went straight into the side net.

Striker Richard Arthur took an audacious attempt to find the back of the net in the 22nd minute when he smashed a thunderbolt from distance but his effort went wide. The club rewarded the goal to Afriyie Daniel but the clear picture shows that the goal was an own goal

Hearts of Oak forward Daniel Barnieh Afriyie’s close-range effort turned home Fatawu Mohammed’s low cross that came off captain Abanga into the net for the opener.

Nuru Sulley and Afriyie Barnieh came close again to increase the tally for the Phobians but this time, Inter Allies appeared resolute at the back

Allies were unrelenting and continued to push for the equalizer but it came to nothing as the game progressed.

The defeat – 12th of the campaign for Inter Allies pushes them further down the table with 16 points from 20 League matches. Hearts of Oak who lost by a similar margin to AshantiGold on matchday 19 have climbed to third place with 33 points, two points adrift rivals Asante Kotoko who lead the table with 35 points.