Dawu, Arsenals poised to triumph

....Over Kotoko, Hearts
With just five games to go, the league continues to churn out tremendous excitement mixed with some intrigue and suspense, providing followers of the local game with their monies worth.

Leading their closest pursuers, Asante Kotoko, with some four points, Hearts of Oak appear to be cruising to yet another successful league season, with their dream of a sixth consecutive title success remaining intact.

For the faint-hearted and perhaps the uninformed, the Phobians have both feet in Canaan already. But soccer’s surprise nature provides no room for such thinking at this time.

And it is this unique characteristic of the game that will spur Kotoko on as they pursue their dream of toppling Hearts for the ultimate prize.

This Sunday, the two top sides travel to Dawu and Berekum to honour their respective 26th week games.

While Hearts clash with Arsenals in the Brong Ahafo town, Kotoko return to the Eastern Region the second time in only two weeks, but this time to the quiet environs of Dawu.

Significantly, both Hearts and Kotoko have achieved the same results in their last two respective matches, winning 2-1 and 2-0 against their opponents on each occasion.

And as the league travels along the last lap, neither side is ready to loosen its hold on the current trend, as that could jeopardise the side’s chances of making any realistic claim on the target prize.

Kotoko’s extreme hunger for title success, caused by eight years of starvation, provides them with enough motivation to step hard on the pressure button to land them on safe grounds in the event of a Phobian slip.

In that bid, Ralf Zumdick and his charges can ill-afford to drop a fraction of a point at Dawu. And if that should become a reality, then Michael Osei and Arhin Duah must hatch the supplies from Ablordey and Stephen Oduro into golden eggs.

Similarly, the heated pressure behind the Phobians will inform the ‘no-nonsense’ attitude with which they will confront Arsenals.

That should work to bring the best from star performer, Charles Taylor, Bernard Don Bortey, Edmund Copson, Wisdom Abbey and Sammy Adjei to survive whatever fierce opposition the likes of George Eranio, Francis Bossman, Yaw Serbeh and goalkeeper Justice Quarcoe will put up.

In Accra, Wonder Club, Great Olympics, are favoured to overrun RTU after the Accra side’s splendid midweek outing at Obuasi, while the Kumasi Stadium is expected to provide King Faisal with an advantage over B.A. United.

Hasaacas should make mince meat of bottom club and relegation certainties, maxbees at Sekondi, while Power may split points with Goldfields at Koforidua.

Bofoakwa are expected to drive Mine Stars from the Sunyani Coronation Park empty-handed, with the Okwawu and Liberty Professionals game tomorrow likely to swing either way.