Writer: Amoah Kofi
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| Ghana Premier League |
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Here are six (6) significant things we learnt from Week 21 of this season's ongoing Ghana Premier League.
1. Ashanti Gold, standing on a solid ground
The Miners, as they are
affectionately called have really stood on the ground and maintained their
position on the league log after matchday 21. They are enjoying a purple patch
this season, being the league leaders for a chunk part of the season. Surely,
anything below winning the league this season will forever be cemented bad
luck to their quest of annexing the league since 1995. Their CEO, Kwadwo Fiano
and coach Bashiru Hayford's name will forever remain on the lips of the AshGold
supporters for all the bad reasons.
As it stands now, AshGold are the
only club safe from relegation. First with 40 points out of a possible 63
representing 63%. That is very much impressive, more than half of the required
points. From the 4th place team Aduana, to the the last team on the log B.A
United, any club is bound for relegation. Points amassed by clubs are so close
in such a way that a defeat slips one club to about 2 to 3 places down on the
league and vice versa. As in the case of Aduana in Week 19. From 2nd to 6th
position when they lost a game to Chelsea. Ashanti Gold have really got the
ducks in a row for now and with 9 matches to go, they are the only club safe
from relegation and look set to wrap up the league.
2. Away win; chasing a
tail
Visiting clubs have done all that
they can to win matches away from home but to no avail. A quick run through matches played by clubs as visiting teams as to the number of wins chalked
is very much disturbing and sickening. 17 (10%) wins only. I had to challenge
this, went back to matches played since matchday 1 and do the counting myself.
I was left scratching my head as the figure was correct and leaned back gently
in my chair. Surprised!! That would be an understatement. Questions began
running through my head. Is it that visiting clubs aren't doing enough or clubs
playing at home are much stronger or the standard of our league is very low or
it goes beyond these questions. A lot of "or's" to ask. 113 wins at
home as against 17 away wins is so scary a difference to look and compare.
Kotoko and Ashanti Gold have enjoyed
the lion's share of away wins. 3 wins for each followed by Edubiase with 2. The
continental club masters, Hearts of Oak have only 1 (against Kotoko) out of 9.
Very bad for the Phobian family. Clubs such as Brekum Chelsea, Liberty, B.A
United, Bechem United, Medeama SC and Heart of Lions are yet to win an away
match. Clubs need to put their acts together and challenge hosting clubs for
all the three points at stake.
3. BA United, pulling all the stops
One of the shocking results this weekend
was when BA United traveled all the way to pick a point from a dreaded ground, the Wa Park. Little did pundits and analysts give BA United a dog's chance against
Wa All Stars. This might have shown that things somewhere went wrong along the
line for them. Being at the bottom of the league since matchday 7 (150 days)
shows they started on quite a good note but somewhere along the line; bought
into their own woes which in turn is eating them up.
Bottom on the league log with 17 points
and with 9 matches to go, a possible 27 points at stake. BA United could take the bull
by the horn or pull the teeth of mean lion and miraculously fight for all the
27 points which will make it 44 points at the end of the league if there are
any miracles in football.
Getting a point from Wa shows they
are ready to pull all the stops or as it were, a flash in the pan kind of performance.
They might have done themselves an injustice by letting some games they could
have won slip away. Subsequent matches will tell the full length of their tales.
4. Is blood, sweat and
tears thingy for both Kotoko and Hearts
Both Hearts and Kotoko require a lot
of hardwork and energy to bring back their glory days. For the past 10 years,
both clubs are yet to enjoy sound season with no unending series of management, players, and coach qualms. It looks like these two clubs are siamese twins, just when one's
problem seem to be dying out, the others' resurfaces. They've got a lot
to do to be able to stamp an absolute authority on the domestic front once more and probably Africa at large.
Kotoko's problem is quite different
from Hearts. David Duncan took over Kotoko when the season had already begun. No
pre-season and new crop of players to work with. Whether the players suit his
style of play or not, he has to make do with them. 5 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses in
11 matches is somehow good, given his caliber. Kotoko’s problem
primarily has to do with peaking at the wrong time in the season. They won more
than 15 matches during pre-season which shows they could have been battling
AshGold for the league title had the league started early enough. They got to the
climax and as the law of karma has it they are descending coolly for all the
wrong reasons. Tiredness is also having a telling effect on the players.
On the other hand, Herbert Addo took over
pre-season and transfer of players. Hearts' impressive display in the
Confederation Cup speaks volume of a man with a lot of experience who needs time.
Sadly enough, Hearts isn’t a club to be experimenting. Instant results and hit are what the Phobian fraternity need at this time. One thing that is lucid, they
should understand that they need to rebuild from the scratch. It takes sweat
and blood, putting pride aside and aim for a better team in the future. Honors
achieved by the 64 battalions were not on a silver platter.
5. David Duncan now beginning to find some rhythm
David Duncan’s last 4 matches in all competitions have
seen him conceding only 1 goal and that was against Bechem United. He has kept 3
clean sheets which is very encouraging. Against league leaders AshGold, Hearts
and Medeama were his last three clean sheets. Duncan has been in the league for
so long a time to be able to handle pressure like this. He has shown with clubs
such as AshGold, Olympics and Hearts of Oak that given the time and space to
work, he will deliver. As ace journalist Jeffrey Asare says “grinding results in times like this is what
matters”. That is what matters for Kotoko and Duncan as at now. It even means
to win ugly many a time. The ultimate is to get results and get the team moving on.
6. Ghana league, now gaining some attention
In recent times, statistics about
clubs and ongoing matches played are documented to serve as reference point. In time
past, first and second half goals wouldn’t have been known. The FA’s site is
such a bad channel for all these. Number of penalties, red and yellow cards,
players and coach statistics wouldn’t have been known. Statistics is part of
the modern game and makes it interesting when watching matches. It guides us as to what
will happen.
Thanks to journos like Nana Pazl, Stak Sottie, Efson,
Muftawu Abdul Nabila,
Evans Gyamera-Antwi,
Frank Darkwah,
Sports Obama, Anthony Abel Jnr and other media outlets such as
Citi and Joy FM.
Kudos guys for giving the league some face lift, interesting
stats, analyses and issues that need urgent attention. Someone somewhere is
really admiring your work.
But one question still lingers. Is it because the foreign leagues are on a break, hence the reason for such enthusiasm? Re-echoing Efson’s statement.
