Hearts of Oak suffered a blip in their pursuit of successive wins as Elmina Sharks left it late to beat them 1-0 on match-day 2 of the Ghana FA Normalization Special Competition.
Striker Felix Addo snatched the only goal of the game in the 84th minute at Nduom Park Wednesday afternoon.
Both sides took off at a slow pace as they tried to prevent conceding an early goal. The first half, which seemed balanced, saw few chances being created but got squandered.
Hearts nearly broke the deadlock in the first half when they were presented with two scoring opportunities but Esso and Obeng Jnr. failed to beat Richard Atta in posts for the home side.
Tweneboah and Addo also came close but their efforts were fruitless. The first half ended even.
After recess, the Phobians stepped up their game and controlled most part of the half.
Kojo Obeng Jnr. – who scored Hearts’ only goal against Dreams on match day one – had the chance to put his side ahead in the 78th minute after dribbling past three players but he shot wide.
Tweneboah came close again for Sharks but Richmond Ayi was up to the task.
With about five minutes to end the game, Felix Addo scored from a close range.
Yaw Acheampong’s charges held on to the slim lead to secure their first win in the tournament. Elmina Sharks now hold four points having held Inter Allies to a 0-0 draw last Sunday.
Line-ups:
Elmina Sharks XI: Richard Atta – Samuel Arthur, Kingsley Adjei, Issaka Mohammed Dumah, Daniel Obeng Crentsil – Augustine Owusu, Richard Mpong, Benjamin Tweneboah, Benjamin Arthur – Emmanuel Addington, Felix Addo.
Hearts of Oak XI: Richmond Ayi – Christopher Bonney, Robert Addo Sowah, Mohammed Alhassan, William Dankyi – Benjamin Afutu, Aminu Alhassan, Fatawu Mohammed, Joseph Esso – Kojo Obeng Jnr., Kofi Kordzi.
FULL TIME:
Premier B #MD2 Results:
– Sharks 1-0 Hearts
Scorer: [F. Addo]– WAFA 1-1 Inter Allies
Scorers: [K. Opoku; E. Nsungusi Jnr.]– Liberty 4-0 Dwarfs
Scorers: [K. Addai (OG), E. Addo (2*), B. Eshun]– Dreams FC 1-1 Karela
Scorers: [S. Alarbi; D. Taylor]#NCSpecial pic.twitter.com/myfwa5a79l— Footy-Ghana.com 🇬🇭 (@FootyGhana) April 3, 2019
By Daniel Osei
