Hearts of Oak win back-to-back President’s Cup after hard-fought victory over Asante Kotoko
Accra Hearts of Oak killed two birds with one stone as they pipped eternal rivals Asante Kotoko to win back to back President’s Cup title and also moved above the Porcupine Warriors to fourth on the league standings.
In the presence of President Akufo-Addo, the Phobians recorded a 1-0 victory at the Accra Sports Stadium on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
The two teams started the game all fired up, with end to end action dominating the first 15 minutes.
Asante Kotoko were presented with the first chance of the game when Stephen Mukwala fired a one-on-one opportunity over the bar from inside the box.
It was the turn of Hearts to punish their rivals for failing to convert their chances but Benjamin Yorke’s was denied by shot stopper Danlad Ibrahim.
With few minutes to end the first half, the tempo of the game increased and Enock Morrison fired a shot over before efforts by Linda Mtange and Yorke were calmly collected by Danlad as the game headed into the break in a stalemate.
After the break, Hearts of Oak found the opening goal through Konadu Yiadom’s fabulous header into the far post, connecting beautifully from an Mtange set piece metres away from the box.
Kotoko did all they could to find an equalizer with possessive football, but it was the Phobians who found openings on the break, all of which were wasted.
Kotoko’s closest chance of the game came when Sherif Mohammed’s header cannoned off the underside of the crossbar and back out.
Kotoko piled on pressure in the last five minutes of the game plus an additional six minutes of injury time and had a late penalty appealed turned down, much to the delight of their fans as Hearts of Oak held on for the win.
The win is the Phobians’ 2nd in 6 league games and also hands them their sixth President’s Cup.
