Category: Ghana Premier League

Pictures: Hearts of Oak arrive in Algeria; set for last TWO flights to match venue

The Phobians have finally touched down in the North African country after leaving Ghana two days ago

Ghana’s sole representatives in Caf Confederation Cup Hearts of Oak have finally arrived in Algeria on Thursday evening, AshesGyamera.com can report.

The Phobians left Ghana on Wednesday morning and made their first transit in Cote D’Ivoire before heading to Istanbul, Turkey.

They later left Turkey on Thursday afternoon and after spending almost six hours in the air, touched down in Algiers.

As earlier reported by AshesGyamera.com, Hearts will take another flight from Algiers to Oran on Friday morning before they connect with another flight to Bechar where the game will be played on Sunday.

The Phobians after the game will repeat the same route back to Ghana and the hectic travelling arrangements is one of the reasons why Ghana FA opted to grant them their request to postponed the matchday seven league fixture against Asante Kotoko indefinitely.

FULL LIST OF HEARTS PLAYERS IN TURKEY:

1.Richmond Ayi

2.Richard Baidoo

3.Richard Atta

4.Larry Sumaila

5.Fatawu Mohammed

6.William Denkyi

7.Raddy Ovouka

8.Mohammed Alhassan

9.Nuru Sulley

10.Caleb Amankwah

11.Emmanuel Nettey

12.Ansah Botchway

13.Salifu Ibrahim

14.Salim Adams

15.Isaac Mensah

16.Kofi Kordzi

17.Victor Aidoo

18.Agyenim Boateng

19.Suraj Seidu

20.Enock Asubonteng

21.Afriyie Daniel Barnieh

22.Patrick Razak

Video: Rich Lamptey returns to training as 26-man Kotoko prepare for Kumasi derby

The Porcupine Warriors midfielder has resumed training as they fine tune for the biggest game of the weekend

Asante Kotoko midfielder Richmond Lamptey returned to training Thursday afternoon ahead of the Kumasi derby against King Faisal in Ghana Premier League at Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Saturday

The youngster picked up an injury in the win over Techiman Eleven Wonders a fortnight ago and was forced to be replaced. As a result, he missed the trip to Ainyinase last weekend when Kotoko shared the spoils goalless with Karela United.

Lamptey’s return means that coach Prosper Ogum Narteh will likely revert to his favourite three-man midfield alongside Mudasiru Salifu and Fabio Gama.

During the training session on Thursday, youngster Joseph Amoako scored a brace during the training session just like Imoro Ibrahim Solomon Sarfo Taylor.

Also, there were goals scored by striker Evans Adomako, Mbella Frank Thierry and skipper Ganiu.

Kotoko top the league log with 13 points, three points above Faisal who sit second position. They are the only club yet to taste a defeat this season after five games.

Pictures: Hearts of Oak arrive in Istanbul, Turkey ahead of another transit; one key player dropped

The Phobians have safely arrived in Europe as they prepare to connect with another flight back to Africa for the make or break encounter

Ghana Premier League champions Hearts of Oak have arrived in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday ahead of their second leg of Caf Confederation Cup play-offs.

The Phobians, who head into the game with a 2-0 advantage, left the shores of the country on Wednesday morning and made their first of the many transits in Cote D’Ivoire before boarding another flight to Europe.

The took another flight in the neighbouring country to Turkey and have safely arrived in its capital Istanbul, AshesGyamera.com can confirm.

Hearts of Oak in Turkey

Although, the Phobians initially announced a 23-man travelling contingent, one player failed to make the trip in the eleventh hour. Defender Robert Addo Sowah who missed the first leg last weekend was dropped.

The centre-back failed to recover from an injury he picked up at training as he failed the late fitness test conducted by the club’s medical team.

Hearts are expected to leave Istanbul on Thursday for Algeria and they will first touch down in the country’s capital called Algiers before they continue with their journey.

As earlier reported by AshesGyamera.com, Hearts will take another flight from Algiers to Oran on Friday morning before they connect with another flight to Bechar where the game will be played.

They will repeat the same route after the game and the hectic travelling arrangements is one of the reasons why Ghana FA opted to grant them their request to postponed the matchday seven league fixture against Asante Kotoko indefinitely.

FULL LIST OF HEARTS PLAYERS IN TURKEY:

1.Richmond Ayi

2.Richard Baidoo

3.Richard Atta

4.Larry Sumaila

5.Fatawu Mohammed

6.William Denkyi

7.Raddy Ovouka

8.Mohammed Alhassan

9.Nuru Sulley

10.Caleb Amankwah

11.Emmanuel Nettey

12.Ansah Botchway

13.Salifu Ibrahim

14.Salim Adams

15.Isaac Mensah

16.Kofi Kordzi

17.Victor Aidoo

18.Agyenim Boateng

19.Suraj Seidu

20.Enock Asubonteng

21.Afriyie Daniel Barnieh

22.Patrick Razak

“I’m a patriotic citizen, I can’t stop Hasaacas Ladies players from joining Black Queens,” says Basigi

The experience gaffer has rejected suggestions that he has kicked against his players joining the national team

Yussif Basigi, the coach of Ghana’s Women Premier League champions, Hasaacas Ladies, has vehemently denied reports that he has been advising and kicking against his players joining the female national team.

Reports were rife that Hasaacas Ladies players opted not to join the senior female national team in the past despite receiving invitations from coach Mercy Tagoe.

However, Basigi, who led Hasaacas Ladies to finish second in the maiden Caf Women’s Champions League held last month in Egypt, insists that is never true.

“I am a Ghanaian and a patriot, I have worked for the national team since 2011. It’s not about the Black Queens, it’s about Ghana,” Basigi said on Citi TV.

“If I should say my players should not play for the Black Queens it means I don’t love the country.

“It is not about individuals because the national team is for the nation.

“I don’t see why I would prevent my players from representing the national team.

“However six of my players were with the Princesses,” he stated on The Tracker on Citi TV.

Alhaji Grunsah TEARS APART ungrateful Asamoah Gyan after comments on penalty against South Africa

The veteran football administrator has aimed a dig at the country’s all-time top scorer after he suggested that the penalty awarded Ghana against South Africa was very soft

Alhaji Karim Grunsah, owner and bankroller of Ghana Premier League side King Faisal has launched a scathing attack on former Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan following his comment against Senegalese referee Maguitta Ndiaye who officiated the final Group G World Cup qualifying game.

Gyan suggested that the penalty which was awarded to the Black Stars in the Fifa World Cup qualifier against South Africa was a soft one.

According to the 36-year-old, Leicester City defender Daniel Amartey went down too easily after the challenge by the South African defender and because there was a high tempo in the game, it forced Senegalese referee Maguette Ndiaye to award Ghana a penalty which was scored by Andre Ayew who was making his 100th cap for Ghana.

“I think the incident was a bit casual,” Gyan told Asempa FM in an interview.

“There weren’t many cameras on the day to give us different angles unlike what we see in other league matches elsewhere but from where I sat and how I saw it, the infringement was debatable. I think Daniel Amartey went down too easily.

“This is my thought based on where I sat and how I saw things. However, the referee was closer to the spot and probably had he a better view of the situation.

“Remember also that the tempo of the game was also high and that could have influenced the referee’s decision to award the spot-kick to Ghana

“We all Ghanaians and support the Black Stars to win games so I always follow them even though I’m not part of the squad. I’m always supporting them to qualify to the World Cup. If I compare the game against Ethiopia and South Africa, I would say the Black Stars were better against South

“In the game against Ethiopia, Black Stars were dominated throughout but they improved their performance against South Africa,” Gyan added.

The comments has irked Grunsah and the outspoken administrator suggest Gyan is an ungrateful person who is on a mission to bring instability in the Black Stars ambitions to make it to the World Cup.

“Asamoah Gyan is an ungrateful person and a pretender,” Alhaji Grunsah told Atinka FM.

“He won’t even get the opportunity to become a ball boy again with the Black Stars. He should stop talking about the penalty against South Africa if he has no better things to tell Ghanaians,” he added.

South Africa officially protested against Ghana to Fifa and the referee and the final verdict is expected to be released in the coming days.

Herbert Mensah insists Asante Kotoko will win Ghana Premier League

The Porcupine Warriors former boss has insisted that they will be the eventual winners of the top-flight

Asante Kotoko former chief executive officer Herbert Mensah has reiterated that the club will be the winners of this season’s Ghana Premier League title.

The Porcupine Warriors currently lead the log with 13 points after five games, three points ahead of city rivals King Faisal.

The two clubs will square it off this weekend in the top of the table clash at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Saturday.

“I predicted earlier before the league started that Asante Kotoko will win the league and I still stand by that If there’s unity and great understanding amongst all the major stakeholders then no team can outcompete Kotoko,” Mensah told Akoma FM.

Mensah, however, advised the club’s supporters that they should not support individuals since that will only breed division.

“Kotoko is bigger than every individual, every time there’s a dispute or people are annoyed or there are factions, what people fail to realize is that Kotoko is bigger than everyone else.

“I still stand by it that Kotoko will win the league with unity, also I think Kotoko is the best-prepared team and stronger than all the other clubs. If you love Kotoko support Kotoko, not individuals,” he added.

Revealed: Hearts of Oak to board five flights before they face JS Souara in Caf Confederation Cup

The Phobians will have to travel to two different countries before they arrive Algeria for the return fixture of the Caf Confederation Cup play-off at the Stade du 20 Août 1955.

Ghana’s sole representatives in the Caf Confederation Cup, Hearts of Oak, will have to board five different flights from Ghana before they touch down at the venue in Algeria for the return fixture of the play-off against JS Souara.

The Phobians, who will be heading into the game with a 2-0 advantage, will begin their journey from Accra on Wednesday morning before they make a transit in Cote D’Ivoire. They will then board a new flight from the neighbouring country for another transit in Europe.

Hearts are expected to arrive in Istanbul, the capital of Turkey on Thursday before they join another flight to Algeria.

According to AshesGyamera’s sources, Hearts will take another flight from Algiers to Oran before they connect another to Bechar where the game will be played. If Hearts are lucky, they will get a direct flight from Algiers to Bechar and then avoid going to Oran.

During the first leg, Souara also had to use five different flights before they arrived in Ghana.

The Algerians began their journey from Bechar to Oran last week Wednesday before arrived in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria.

They later boarded a flight players from Algiers to Tunisia and made a transit in the capital city of Tunis. Their last transit was in Dubai before they touched down in Ghana on Friday.

Because of the hectic travel arrangements by Hearts of Oak, their matchday seven fixture in Ghana Premier League against Asante Kotoko have been rescheduled indefinitely by Ghana Football Association.

Hearts of Oak used ‘JUJU’ to defeat JS Souara in Accra, President alleges

The Algerian club’s chief says the Phobians used diabolic tactics to frustrate them in the first leg of the play off

JS Sauora President Mohamed Zerouati has accused Hearts of Oak of using diabolic tactics to defeat them in the first leg of Caf Confederation Cup playoffs last weekend at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The Phobians ran away with a 2-0 advantage over a ten-man Souara thanks to goals in each half of the game from Ibrahim Salifu and Isaac Agyenim Boateng.

However, Zerouati believes his side were drastically troubled ahead of the game since their dressing room were intentionally sprayed with some terrible materials.

“When we arrived and during our first training session at the stadium that they hosted the game, we reported a weird strong smell, very unpleasant odour. We were promised that the problem will be fixed but on match day we ran into the same problem, it’s weird. ” Zerouati said in an interview with the Algerian Press.

“We do not know what it is but maybe is something [like Juju] that they did to defeat us in the game.”

Hearts are expected to leave Ghana on Wednesday for the return fixture. However, they will make transit in Ivory Coast and Turkey before arriving in Algeria since they could not find a direct flight from Ghana.

The winner after the two legs will progress to the group stage of the competition.

Kotoko intensify preparations to face King Faisal with 26 players; Nettey and others return

The Porcupine Warriors continued with their recovery training on Tuesday as they fine tune to face King Faisal in the Ashanti derby on Sunday

Asante Kotoko continued their preparations for the local derby against King Faisal in Ghana Premier League matchday six fixture at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Sunday.

The Porcupine Warriors dropped points for the first time this season against Karela United last weekend at the Crosby Awuah Memorial Park in Ainyinase and are hoping to return to winning ways.

A total number of twenty six players reported for training on Tuesday afternoon including defenders Yussif Mubarik and Patrick Asmah after they missed the draw against Karela United last weekend.

The duo were involved in the first team’s training as they went through the drills and recovery methods led by the coaches.

However, defender Christopher Nettey who also missed last weekend’s game was present but did not train with the players. He only sat down to watch his colleagues since he is yet to fully recover from the foot injury sustained last week.

Midfielder Stephen Amankonah scored two goals at training just like striker Dickson Afoakwah.

Cameroon striker Mbella Frank Thierry and defender Andrew Appau scored some of the goals at training today.

Also, midfielder Emmanuel Keyekeh, Charles Owusu and Maxwell Agyemang were on target.

Kotoko lead Ghana Premier League log with 13 points, three points above King Faisal who sit second on the log.

Confirmed: Ghana FA postpone Hearts vs Asante Kotoko fixture in Premier League

The country’s football association has rescheduled the Super Clash between the Phobians and Porcupine Warriors to an unknown date due to the former’s participation in Caf inter-club competition

Ghana Football Association has postponed the Premier League matchday seven fixture between Heats of Oak and Asante Kotoko to an indefinite date, AshesGyamera.com can confirm.

The Phobians were scheduled to play Kotoko on December 12 at the Accra Sports Stadium but they wrote a letter to Ghana FA to postpone due to their involvement in Caf inter-club competition.

The Phobians are currently participating in Caf Confederation and will take on Algerian side JS Saoura in the second leg of the play-offs for a place in the group stage.

They head into the game with a 2-0 advantage and would be hoping to hold on to it to book their place in the group stage for the first time in almost a decade.

“We leave Algeria on Monday, December 6 and arrive in Ghana four days later so we wrote a letter to Ghana FA for postponement and they have agreed,” a source close to the club told AshesGyamera.com.

“We can’t use three or four days to recover from a such a hectic trip and play such a crucial game. Remember that we are not boarding a direct flight from Ghana to Algeria. Rather, we will be making a transit before arriving in Algiers and then take another flight to the match venue.

“This means that we will be stressed up and therefore need some time to cool off and recover fully for the games ahead,” the source added.

Hearts had their matchday five fixture against Berekum Chelsea postponed since they were playing Souara in the Confederation Cup.

They will also have their game against Medeama which was initially scheduled to take place this weekend in Tarkwa postponed as they will be away in Algeria.

This means that Hearts will have three outstanding games in the league and sit at the bottom of the league log with just three points after four games.