After Hearts of Oak took a heavy slip, succumbing to a 3-0 defeat to WAFA SC at Sogakope Saturday, Wa-based All Stars knew a win over Bechem will take them back to the top, a position they have enjoyed for a greater part of the 23-match-day old 2015/16 Ghana Premier League.
And goals from Sadick Alhassan and Richard Arthur in either half at the Malik Jabir Stadium ensured the mission was accomplished on Sunday. Alhassan scored the opener from the spot after Kofi Yeboah won a penalty in the 40th minute. Richard Arthur then put the game beyond the hunters with a neat finish 7 minutes into second half. All Stars now have two points better than Hearts of Oak who are on 39.
At the Essipong Stadium, Sekondi Hasaacas continued their battle for survival with a 2-1 victory over title chasers Aduana Stars. Ebo Duncan shot the hosts into the lead but striker Bright Adjei pegged back for the Dormaa lads. Richmond Kojo Opoku however sealed victory for Hasaacas with a penalty strike. Aduana however keep their 3rd position with 37 points.
Berekum Chelsea managed to come back from an early goal to draw visiting Liberty Professionals at the Golden City Park on Sunday. Daniel Kodie’s goal was cancelled by Seth Appiah. 1-1 it ended.
Champions AshantiGold ensured a double over rivals New Edubiase United in the Adansi Derby. In a match which saw the return of head coach Bashir Hayford who had been away pursuing a Masters in Education and Sports Course at the University of Cape Coast, the Miners brought back the smiles on the faces of their teeming fans at the Len Clay Stadium with a 2-0 victory. Fuseini Nuhu opened the scoring against his former club before Emmanuel Osei Baffour scored the second goal of the game. AshGold after flirting with relegation for most parts of the season have now moved to 11th position on 29 points while Edubiase remain bottom with 21 points.
A rather soft penalty, late in the second half, saw Asante Kotoko clinch the needed three points in their game against Dreams FC at the Baba Yara Stadium. A tackle on winger Emmanuel Gyamfi in the 85th minute saw referee Nathan Anaafo pointing to the spot from which captain Amos Frimpong stepped up and scored. With the win, Kotoko are back to the top 4 places with a point behind Aduana Stars and same above Dreams FC.
Mysterious Ebusua Dwarfs also travelled to secure a rare victory from Techiman City at the Nana Ameyaw Park. Alhaji Mustapha scored the only goal of the encounter that sees the Cape Coast side move up 9th place on the 16-team log.
They made it a battle of the free-kick specialists at the Tema Stadium on match day 23. Midfielders Kwasi Donsu and Gockel Ahortor who had scored 11 goals from dead ball situations between them in the 2015/16 Ghana Premier League were in the mood to unleash their specialties for their respective sides – Medeama and Inter Allies in a 1-1 stalemate on Sunday.
Donsu was the first to score – his 8th from free-kicks and an overall 10 goals in 17 league starts. Gockel Ahortor however restore pride for Inter Allies at home as he also scored from a free-kick for the 5th time this season in the 85th minute to hand his relegation threatened side a point. Early on, goalkeeper Kwame Osei saved the blushes of Inter Allies with a penalty save. The Eleven Is To One side continue to flirt with dropping off the top flight at the end of the season as they now stay 14th position with 7 games to spare.
GPL match day 23 Results:
AshantiGold 2-0 New Edubiase United
Scorers: Fuseini Nuhu, Emmanuel Osei Baffour
Kotoko 1-0 Dreams FC
Scorer: Amos Frimpong (pen)
Techiman City 0-1 Dwarfs
Scorer: Alhaji Mustapha
Wa All Stars 2-0 Bechem Utd
Scorers: Sadick Alhassan (pen), Richard Arthur
Sekondi Hasaacas 2-1 Aduana Stars
Scorers: Ebo Duncan, Richmond Kojo Opoku; Bright Adjei
Berekum Chelsea 1-1 Liberty
Scorers: Seth Appiah; Daniel Kodie
Inter Allies 1-1 Medeama SC
Scorer: Gockel Ahortor; Kwasi Donsu
NB: Photo by: Images Image