Hearts of Oak boss Herbert Addo is mastering the art of excuses as his team's form slumps.

And he risks the ire of fans. Not just because his team lost on Wednesday, but because of the reason he offered. The Phobians were beaten 2-0 by Wa All Stars in Wa.

Abdul Ganiyu opened the scores with a 26th minute spot kick, with goalkeeper Tetteh Luggard failing to stop the ball from entering the net by letting the ball slip through his hands. Emmanuel Ocran sealed the win with a strike a minute from full time.

Addo promptly blamed the pitch.

Herbert Addo said the undulating nature of the Wa pitch prevented his boys from playing any meaningful football. "The game was very crucial for both teams; you can see that in the first 15-20 minutes. We lost it because the park was so bad; they are used to the pitch."

"In the first half we conceded a penalty after a misjudged ball from my players; it was the nature of the pitch (that brought about the penalty).

"What I am trying to say is that we could not play football on the day, both teams were ballooning the ball which was not football. "We conceded the second penalty through dubious decision which I don’t want to talk about. We were not playing football; the ball was always in the air."