Accra Hearts of Oak missed out on the chance to close the gap on Aduana Stars in the BetPawa Premier League after falling to a 3-0 defeat at Karela United on Saturday.
The Rainbows arrived safely in Aiyinase on Friday in high spirit but without some few notable players. Caleb Amankwah missed the clash after receiving a red card in their previous game. Striker Kwadwo Obeng Junior also failed to make the trip because of illness.
Coach David Ocloo made four changes to his team. Konadu Yiadom, Amankwaa Baafi, Rashid Okine and Francis Adjetey started in defense.
Linda Mtange, Jeordon Otanga and Eric Esso were paired in midfield. Isaac Mensah also spearheaded attack alongside Benjamin Yorke and Salifu Ibrahim.
The Rainbows had a couple of an early chances to take the lead, the best falling to Isaac Mensah, but he couldn’t find a way to beat Karela United goalkeeper.
Karela United started mounting pressure on the visitors and showed signs of promise in the first half with Emmanuel Boakye scoring the opening goal in the 17th minute.
Sixteen minutes later, the hosts punctured Hearts of Oak’s shaky defence as Konadu Yiadom lashed the ball into the back of his own net.
Things turned from bad to worse for the Phobians as Rashid Okine was sent off in the 43rd minute.
Goalkeeper Richmond Ayi painted his face white before the game.
Hearts of Oak made three substitutions back from break. Albert Diego Dieudonne Eonde, Victor Aiddo and Zakari Yakubu came in as replacement for Salifu Ibrahim, Benjamin Yorke and Isaac Mensah but could not break down a committed Karela United side that defended well.
The hosts started the second half strongly and blocked the Rainbows to reduce the deficit.
In search of a goal, Ocloo replaced Linda with Asuboteng – Clinton Appiah also replaced injured Francis Adjetey but the change proved ineffective.
However, within minutes of their arrival, Richard Berko registered the third goal for Karela United and his goal effectively sealed the game.
The technical team of the Rainbows will have to work on their strikers. They looked to be lacking a real presence up front.
It was a huge win for the home side as they put distance between themselves and the relegation zone but it was a poor result for the visitors. They will slip from the top four depending on the results from the remaining fixtures on week 23 of the BetPawa Premier League.
