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Soccer News of Monday, 17 February 2003

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Hearts revive hope of fans

Champion Club Accra Hearts of Oak revived the hope of their teeming fans when they beat Togolese FA Champions Etoile Filante 2-0 at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.

The win came as a relief for their fans after Hearts had lost 1-2 to a Liberian side, Bendu FC in their first pre-season match a fortnight ago.

Hearts came into the game a much stronger side following a blend of the old and newly recruited players and took on their opponent's right from the blast of the whistle but failed to make use of the chances that came their way.

Massawudu Mumuni and Nasiru Ghani were the worse culprits in the match as they left many begging chances unutilised.

Mumuni could have put his side ahead in the 40th minute but was a bit complacent upfront, which denied him of the opportunity ending the first half with no goal to either side.

Hearts resumed the second half on a much stronger note pinning their opponents to their own half in a bid to get the opener but the attackers continued with their near misses.

Frank Turkson made a swift move into the defence of Filante in the 68th minute beating three defenders before placing the ball into the net for the first goal.

Newly signed on Mumuni increased the tally in the 70th minute when he collected a pass from William Gbedzeke and raced into the defence of Filante before beating Keeper Ghapke Kokou for the second goal.

The Phobians probed for more goals but all their efforts did not yield any fruit till the end of the 90 minutes.