Hearts held to goaless draw in Accra

Results in African club soccer competitions on Saturday - Champions League, group A
In Accra: Hearts of Oak (Ghana) 0 Raja Casablanca (Morocco) 0
Halftime: 0-0; Attendance: 10,000

Hearts, Raja Draw 0-0

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Morocco's Raja Casablanca held a 10-man Accra Hearts of Oak of Ghana to a goalless draw in their penultimate Group A soccer match of the Africa Champions' League, played in Accra Sports Stadium Saturday.
Playing in a heavy downpour for the greater part of the game, Hearts appeared too ordinary for the swift Moroccans who were clearly on top throughout the 90 minutes.
Raja nearly went ahead as early as the second minute but Nejjary Omar's speculative shot missed the upright narrowly after beating goalkeeper James Nanor of Hearts.
The Moroccans came close again in the 12th minute but goalkeeper Nanor denied them the opening goal when he parried Eneyahi Reda's powerful shot over the cross bar.
Three minutes later, Reda, who proved too hot for the Hearts defenders to handle, nearly slotted the ball into the net after rounding two defenders and goalkeeper Nanor in the box but the goalie fouled him in the process as the ball went to touch.
Malian referee Magassa Sidibe, however, ignored the Moroccans appeal for a penalty and allowed play to continue.
Hearts gradually came into the picture and created their first goal scoring opportunity in the 25th minute when Kenneth Sarpong dribbled past two Raja defenders and pushed the ball to Emmanuel Kuffour, but the Hearts' midfielder shot wide from close range.
In the 35th minute, Hearts' Amankwah Mireku struck a powerful free kick which goalkeeper Chadite Mustapha failed to grab but the Ghanaians failed to exploit the situation and allowed Raja to clear the ball from the danger zone.
The two sides ended the first half without goal on the soggy pitch.
Back from the break, Hearts brought on Ben Acquah and Charles Allotey for Sarpong and Joe Fameyeh in the 55th and 60th minutes.
The substitutions brought some bite into the Hearts attack as they started raiding the Raja goal area incessantly.
In the 65th minute, Osmanu Amadu had the easiest task of slotting the ball home when Mireku's cross fell onto his path but the bulky striker, who was unmarked, failed to score.
Striker Ishamel Addo, who had been reduced to a mere "passenger" on the field by the tall and effective Raja defenders, was sent off for hitting Raja's El Kafkousi Redoune in the face in the 68th minute.
This angered the Hearts fans, as they started throwing stones and all kinds of missiles at assistant referee Dramane Dante for drawing the referee's attention to the incident.
The incident caused play to be held up and it took the security personnel about two minutes to bring the situation under control.
As the time ticked away, Hearts, who were so desperate for a home win, brought some urgency into their play but they were unable to beat the Raja defence.

Line-up: Hearts - James Nanor, Amankwah Mireku, Jacob Nettey, Joe Ansah, Sani Wahab, Emmanuel Kuffour, Kenneth Sarpong/Charles Allotey, Edmund Copson, Joe Fameyeh/Ben Acquah, Osmanu Amadu/Robert Sabah and Ishmael Addo.

Raja - Cadite Mustapha, Sarraj Adil, El Haumeir Redoune/ Rizki Tarik, El Kafkousi Talal, Hafid Aldessadek, Safri Youssouf, Eneyahi Reda, Jrindou Aldellatif, Aboub Zakaria, Nerraj Omar/ Bemoubarki Boughaif and Mustapha Moustadia.
After Saturday's matches, following is the standing of Group A in the African Champions' League after matches tabulated under played, won, drawn, lost, goals for and goals against. [ST]