Four times
Ghana Premier League champions Ashanti Gold SC will travel to Asante Bekwai to
face second-tier side Achiken FC in the MTN FA Cup round of 64 encounter at the
Gyamfi’s Park on Sunday.
Currently
top of the Ghana Premier League table with 21 points in 11 matches, the Miners
go into the match as the ultimate favourites to advance to the next stage of the
knockout competition. Despite the various upsets caused by lowly ranked clubs
in the history of the competition, the Orange boys are least expected to prove
unbeatable by the 1993 champions of the competition.
The Miners have
gone undefeated in their last five premier league games, winning three (3) and
drawing two (2). Ashanti Gold are one of the least scoring teams in the premier
league, but have the best defensive record in the league. They have scored 3
goals in their last 5 league games and conceded none.
Having won
the FA Cup in 1993 after beating Ebusua Dwarfs 3-2 in the final, Ashanti Gold
have not won the FA Cup again in 27 years now and want to end this drought this
season.
They have
suffered elimination from the competition twice by second-tier side Asokwa
Deportivo in the last three seasons.
Midfielder
Amos Addae and striker Mark Agyekum are ruled out of the match against Achiken
through injuries, but Benjamin Boateng will lead the attack along with Benedict
Womenu to prove their supremacy.
Achiken FC despite
being the hosts, are going into the match as the underdogs and will have to
work beyond their limit if they could stage a huge upset against the Miners.
The match is
an Adanse derby as the two sides are in the Adansi traditional area, and the
rivalry will make it much more a scintillating game to watch.
It is worth
noting, that the owner of Achiken FC, Nana Abankro Acheampong is, in theory,
the vice President of Ashanti Gold SC and has a great relationship with the Obuasi
based premier league giants.
The two
sides are meeting for the first time in the MTN FA Cup with the bragging right
up for grabs.
Achiken FC
are the weakest team in the Division One League in zone two. After eight
matches into the season, the Bekwai based side lie bottom of the 16-team league
table in the 16th position. In their last 8 matches, they are yet to
record a single win, losing 5 and drawing 3. They have conceded a whooping 14
goals and scored 3.
The match against
Ashanti Gold has been scheduled for Sunday, 23rd February, 2020 at
the Bekwai Gyamfi’s Park at 15:00GMT.
