Ghana Premier League - Statistical Preview to week 24 (Part 2)

Writer: Amoah Kofi

Twitter: @Milikykophy 

Facebook: Miliky-Amoah Kophy

Heart of Lions  Vs   Wa Allstars.

-These two sides has met 15 times in the league dating back to 16th March, 2008.

-Lions have won 8, lost 4 and drawn 3.

-25 goals has been produced in their encounters.

-Lions indeed, have the lions share of 14 goals and conceding 11.

-Heart of Lions have played Wa Allstars 7 times at home in the league. They have won 4, lost 1 & drawn 2, scoring 6 & conceding 3.

-Allstars are currently 5th with 35 points while Lions are 14th with 28 points (7 points difference)

-Lions have a 100% record at home, drawing 5 and winning 6. They have scored 13 and conceded 4

-Lions have scored at least a goal at home in their last 4 matches played.

-Allstars on the other hand have scored once in their last 5 outings. Very appalling.

-Allstars have 1 win, 3 draws & 7 defeats in their 11 away matches. They have scored 5 and conceded 11.

-Allstars have lost only 1 in their last 5 matches, drawn 2 & won 2, picking 8 points out of a possible 15.

-Lions have picked less points as compared to Allstars. 4 points out of a possible 15 in their last 5 matches (3L, 1W & 1D).

Aduana Fc   Vs   Inter Allies.

-There has been 3 clashes between these sides.

-Inter Allies has won 2 (2-0 & 1-0) whiles Aduana has won 1 (2-1).

-6 goals has been produced. Aduana has scored  2 and conceded 4.

-Aduana have played twice at home to clubs from the Greater Accra Region. Drew goalless with Liberty and won 1-0 against Hearts of Oak. They have played 6 in all, lost 3, won 2 & drawn 1.

-Inter Allies on the other hand  have played 6 times against clubs in the Brong Ahafo Region. They have won 3, lost 2 and drawn 1. Allies, have managed 8 goals and conceded 4. In addition, they have played 3 times as guest to them winning 1 & losing 2.

-Aduana is 6th on the league table with 35 points whiles Inter Allies are 3rd with 36 points. Just a point separating them.

-Aduana Fc has a 100% home record this season. They are yet to taste defeat at home and impressively, conceded only once (against Berekum Chelsea) in 11 matches.

-Aduana has won 10 matches & drawn 1 at home ( against Liberty). They have scored 12 and conceded only 1 at home.

-Aduana are yet to to concede a goal at home in their last 5 matches. Solid.

-On the flip side, Inter Allies has won 2 matches away, drawing 3 & losing 6 in their 11 matches played as guest. They have scored 7 and conceded 11.

-Inter Allies are yet to taste a defeat in their last 5 matches, picking 13 points out of 15. Applaud able

  performance.

-Aduana on the other hand has 2 wins & 3 loses in their last 5 matches.

Hasaacas    Vs    BA United.

-BA United won the first leg by 1-0 at home.

- BA United are bottom on the league with 18 points whiles Hasaacas are 8th with 32 points (14 points difference).

-Hasaacas has played 6 times against Brong Ahafo clubs this season. They have won 3 (against Aduana, Bechem United and Berekum Chelsea at home) and lost 3 (against BA United, Berekum Chelsea and Bechem United all  as guest).

-Hasaacas has played 11 matches at home winning 8 & drawing 3. They are yet to taste a defeat at home this season. They have scored 19 and conceded 7.

-Hasaacas have scored  in every single match played at home.

-BA United on the other hand are yet to win a single match as guest to other clubs, losing 10 and drawing 1 (against Allstars). They have scored 4 & conceded 23.

-BA have conceded the highest number of goals in the league so far, 35.

-BA United are yet to win a single match in their last 5 matches. 3 draws & 2 defeats.

-Hasaacas have won 2, drawn 1 & lost 2 in their last 5 matches played.

Ghana Premier League – Statistical Preview of Week 24 (Part 1).

Writer: Amoah Kofi

Twitter: @Milikykophy

Facebook: Miliky-Amoah Kophy.

The First Capital Plus Premier League bounces back and enters match day 24 with tensed and mouthwatering encounters. With 7 matches to go, each and every club will like to put its house in order to avoid relegation. The title chase is still on as it is still unclear who is favorite to lift the league trophy.

Berekum Chelsea, who is second on the league log, will travel to Bechem to play Bechem United in a regional derby. An Ashanti derby beckons as Asante Kotoko will be engaging Ashanti Gold at the Baba Yara stadium. The biggest clash this weekend as Ashgold will want to extend their lead at the top after seeing it cut to two points on Wednesday whiles Kotoko, whose performance has been sketchy will want to begin a fresh start with a convincing win against the miners.

Other matches include Hearts of Oak, who will battle New Edubiase at the Obuasi Len Clay Park. Hearts, who is above their arch rivals Asante Kotoko on the league table, will pray their impressive display against Heart of Lions on Wednesday continues. The Tarkwa Muaves, Medeama, will travel to engage Olympics at the nations Wembley and try to end their win less streak in away matches. The Carl Reindolf Park will also be busy as George Lamptey's Liberty face off against high flying WAFA. Heart of Lions will be engaging Wa Allstars at the Kpando stadium whiles Aduana battle it out with Tema based Inter Allies. Finally, at the Sekondi sports stadium, Yusif  Basigi's boys will attempt in picking all the three points against bottom wrecking BA United who is all but set to kiss the league goodbye.

Below are statistics and permutations of matches coming off this weekend.

New Edubiase   Vs   Hearts of Oak.

-These two sides has met on 11 occasions dating back to 8th Nov, 2009.

-Edubiase has won 3, lost 6 and drawn 2.

-There has been 27 goals produced in their clashes with Edubiase scoring 10 and conceding 17.

-Edubiase has all the bragging rights as they defeated Hearts at their own grounds by 1-2 in the first round.

-This will be Hearts third visit to the Ashanti Region in this seasons league matches. Won 1 (against Kotoko) and drew 1 (against Ashanti Gold). They are yet to taste defeat.

-New Edubiase, on the other hand are yet to win and score a goal against Greater Accra teams at home this season. Drew goalless with Olympics and Liberty.

-New Edubiase are 10th on the league table with 30 points whiles Hearts are 11th with 29 points.

-Edubiase has 2 wins, 2 loses & 1 draw in their last 5 matches whiles Hearts has only 1 win, 2 loses  & 2 draws.

-Edubiase has 6 wins out of their 11 matches played at home. In addition, they have 4 draws and 1 defeat, scoring 17 and conceding 10. Hearts on the flip side has 1 win, 4 draws & 5 loses, scoring 7 and conceding 14 in their 11 outings.

-Edubiase are yet to concede a goal at home in their last 4 matches.

Olympics   vs   Medeama SC.

-Olympics is 15th on the league table with 26 points whiles Medeama are 7th with 33 points (7 points difference).

-Medeama won the first leg at Tarkwa by 3 goals to 2.

-Medeama SC has played clubs in the Greater Accra region on 5 occasions. They have won 1, drawn 1 & lost 3. They have also played 3 matches away, lost 1 (against Inter Allies by 2-0) and drawn 2  (against Hearts and Liberty).

-Olympics have 6 wins, 2 draws & 3 defeats in their 11 matches at home scoring 16 and conceding 11.

Medeama, on the other hand has scored 7 and conceded 15 in their 11 matches as guest to other clubs. They are yet to pick a win playing away from home. Drawn 5 and lost 6.

-Medeama are yet to score in their last 3 outings.

Liberty Proff.   Vs   WAFA.

-WAFA  won the first leg 2-0 in the first round at the Sogakope park.

-WAFA has played 5 matches against teams in Greater Accra this season so far. Played 2 away and 3 at home. They have won 3, lost 1(against Hearts) and drew 1(against Inter Allies).

-WAFA are 4th on the table with 36 points whiles Liberty are 9th with 31 points (5 points difference).

-WAFA has lost 6, drawn 4 and won 1 in their last 11 matches played away. They have scored 4 and conceded 13.

-Liberty has 8 wins at home, 2 defeats & 1 draw (against Medeama, 0-0). They have scored 17 and conceded 9. Liberty have failed to score at home on only 3 occasions (against Medeama, Olympics and Ashanti Gold).

-WAFA has 3 wins in their last 5 matches whiles Liberty has 1 win, 3 loses & 1 draw.

Asante Kotoko   Vs    Ashanti Gold.

-Asante Kotoko and Ashanti Gold have played each other more than against any other club since the introduction of the Ghana Premier League in 1993/1994.

- They have met each other on 55 occasions.

-Kotoko has won 2 4, drawn 18 and lost 13.

-Their first league encounter was in 1985. It ended goalless.

-The Miners first league victory over the porcupine warriors was in Feb 1995.

Current Form.

-Ashgold are 1st on the league table with 41 points.

-Bernard Morrison is a doubt for this clash as he limped off in their clash against New Edubiase on Wednesday.

 -Ashanti Gold's top scorer is Yakubu Mohammed with 10 goals. 4 from the spot kick.

-Ashgold's last visit to the Baba Yara stadium was a 2-0 defeat in the MTN FA Cup.

-Ashgold has 3 wins in 11 matches as guest to other clubs, drawing 2 &  losing 6. They have scored 9 and conceded 14.

-Ashgold have picked 7 points out of a possible 15 in their last 5 matches (2W, 1D & 2L).

-Asante Kotoko are currently 12th on the league log with 29 points (12 points difference).

-Small Boy Korbah, Ohene Brenya and Abeiku Ainooson will be out of this clash with injury.

-Kotoko's leading goal scorer, Amed Toure, is with 10 goals in the league so far but has failed to score in 3 matches now.

-Kotoko won their last meeting by 2-0 at the Baba Yara stadium in an MTN FA Cup match.

-Kotoko has 4 wins out of 11 matches played at home. They have suffered 3 defeats and 4 draws scoring 12 and conceding 10.

-In their last 5 matches, Kotoko have picked 4 points out of a possible 15 (3L, 1D & 1W).              

4 THINGS WE LEARNED ON MATCH DAY 23 OF THE FIRST CAPITAL PLUS BANK PREMIER LEAGUE.

4 THINGS WE LEARNED ON MATCH DAY 23 OF THE FIRST CAPITAL PLUS BANK 

PREMIER LEAGUE.

1. Hearts of Oak, all hands on deck now.

Continental clubs masters, Accra Hearts of Oak saw off their counterpart Hearts of Lions at the Cape Coast stadium on match day 23 in a grand style. Hearts were given one match ban by the FA for indiscipline acts shown in their fixture against Hasaacas.

Going into this match, Hearts were 14th on the league log with 26 points. There was everything to play for in this fixture. Lions on the other hand were also battling for a proper stand on the league table and were willing to throw everything in to win this clash. A lose will drop them back into the relegation zone. Fortunately for them, Hearts were playing away from their favourite grounds so they needed to take advantage of that.

Heart of Lions were left stunned as they picked 4 balls from the back of their nets in the first half. It took Selasi Adjei as early as sixth minutes to put Hearts in front, followed by Togolese international, Foovi Aguidi with a brace and Eric Kumi finishing the day with the fourth goal.

Many journalists and even a section of their supporters were very much surprised at the score line pending their poor run of results chalked in this season’s ongoing league. The last time they won by the same huge margin was back in 8th May,2013. They defeated R.T.U in Tamale by four goals to nil (Gilbert Fiamenyo and Mahatma Otto scored the goals). We could attribute this impressive display by the players to the presence of former management and board members who were at the Cape Coast stadium. Alhaji Hearts, Nii Ayi Bonte (Thomas Okine), Harry Zakkor and other members whose presence seemed to have awaken the never say die spirit from its slumber. Reports gathered after the match has it that, the players received a four thousand Ghana cedis right on the field by former board member Thomas Okine. Is an all inclusive affair now, hands and thoughts put together to help bring back the glory days. Is that the current board and management members can't handle situations like this ? Well, the subsequent matches will show if indeed the tables are being turned around in their favour.

2. Berekum Chelsea, now a real title contenders.

Having slaughtered Kumasi Asante Kotoko 0-3 at their backyard  Baba Yara stadium, a strong signal is being sent to league leaders Ashanti Gold that the league is not yet wrapped up as pundits seems to be making a case for them.

Chelsea are enjoying a purple patch as they have three wins in their last three matches,nine out of nine points. They are also yet to taste a defeat in their last 5 matches, since week 19. Chelsea have had it own problems since the start of the league and were deducted points and declared losers in every match played by the FA for failing to observe certain financial obligations in the sale of Solomn Asante to TP Mazembe. Until the issues were resolved, they were bottom on the league table and now a real title force, posing threats to league leaders Ashanti Gold.

Chelsea is the highest goal scoring club with 32 goals. Forward Kofi Owusu and attacking midfielder Stephen Baffour has scored more than 15 goals between them and are the best pair so far in the league. With the steam Chelsea is gathering whiles Ashgold are taking their foot off the pedal, the league could go down to the wire. If things stays the same as it is, Chelsea will presumably have the last laugh as they will be welcoming the league leaders Ashgold to the golden city park.

3. Ashanti Gold, almost a state of déjà vu.

If there is one memory Ashanti Gold football club wouldn't wish happening once again, then it will be the league loss in 2009. A painful  scenario and a heart braking feeling, losing a league title after leading the league for most part of the season and no other than a new entrant Aduana FC, who is yet to find its rhythm in the league.

CEO Kwadwo Fiano who was speaking to Nhyira Power Sports host Bright Kankam Boadu last week said they lost the league in 2009 because they had their eyes only fixed on Hearts of Oak which made Aduana took them by surprise. He also said that they are  leaving no stone unturn as their eyes are widely open this time around.

But 2009 league season mood seems to be happening. They have four points out of a possible 9 in their last three matches. This is  really causing a stir at Obuasi. Reports gathered around Obuasi after their goalless draw with New Edubiase indicates the supporters were so furious with the team and coach Bash as affectionately called. A feat they would wish not happening. This is the time coach Bashiru Hayford have to prove critics wrong for his hugely criticized second round league matches. With seven matches to go, the onus lies on them to pick up the pieces from where they have left it as they have a second round match to play with second placed Berekum Chelsea who have cut their lead to just two points.

4. Weekly away goals, a problem.

Week 23 matches ended across various centers producing 14 goals as in week 1, 3 & 14. One problem in the league is, visiting clubs has failed to whack in the goals on weekly basis despite having more  100 goals in total.

From week 1 to week 23, no week has produced up to 10 and more goals. This is very frightening I should say. The highest weekly goals recorded are 8 goals, recorded in week 2, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 22. The lowest goals recorded is 1. Week 1 and week 23 has produced the lowest goals, 1 each, followed by week 4 and 13 with 2 goals. Week 5, 12 & 20 has also produced 3 goals. Are the strikers missing their spots when they travel away from home. Are they frightened by the supporters or they fail to travel along with their scoring boots. The said issue could be true as the leading goal scorer who has 15 goals, Nathaniel Ohene Asamoah has failed to score in more than 5 outings now.