betPawa GPL: Hearts of Oak move to third as Aduana Stars drop points in title race
Hearts of Oak bounced back from their weekend defeat to secure a crucial 1-0 victory over Accra Lions on Wednesday evening as league leaders Aduana dropped points again in their 1-1 draw with Berekum Chelsea.
Accra Lions started the game brightly with Abass Samari and Evans Botchway causing trouble for Hearts of Oak.
Just 20 minutes into the match, Lions came close after a well-whipped freekick from Remember Boateng was cleared by Konadu Yiadom before the visitors broke on a counter few minutes later.
Samari then tried his luck from outside the box as Accra Lions controlled the game.
After the break, Hearts of Oak improved their game with Amankwah Baafi forcing mistakes out of the Lions defenders.
The away side recovered well and should have taken the lead in the 52 minute after another lovely freekick from Boateng left the Hearts defence in disarray, but Botchway’s final touch went wide.
Minutes later, Boateng sent in another cross which brushed the head of Samari and went inches wide.
Just after the hour mark, Mtange scored the opener for the host after squeezing in a shot past two defenders and the Lions goalkeeper.
The win sees Hearts move up to third place in the league standings, just three points behind the leaders Aduana Stars.
Meanwhile, Aduana were once again less productive as they were held to a second consecutive draw. The league leaders thought they had secured all three points against Berekum Chelsea when Douglas Owusu Ansah scored in the 88th minute, but their hopes were dashed when the home team equalized in the dying moments of the game through Mezack Afriyie.
In Kumasi, King Faisal secured a thrilling 3-2 victory over Karela United. Samuel Kusi, Abdul Latif, and Benjamin Bature were all on target for Faisal, while Emmanuel Boakye Owusu and Ishmael Nketiah scored for Karela.
Elsewhere, Samartex ended their two-game winless run with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over bottom-placed Kotoku Royals in Samreboi.
Bechem United maintained their impressive form, securing a 1-0 victory over 10-man Dreams FC at the Nana Gyeabour Park. Tamale City also recorded a 2-1 win over Nsoatreman.
