The Blind Pass: A weekly feature on the Ghana Premier League - Curbing the Buster

Increasingly it is becoming a cinch to miss a heartbeat than to miss a Ghana premier league fixture as the excitement heightens. Midweek fixtures were honoured for the first time this season with an impressive return of 20 goals in 7 games.

Bechem united grounded league leaders All stars and dented their long standing unbeaten run with a 2-1 victory. With the backs of All stars against the wall, Hearts of oak failed to capitalise and move joint top with home advantage. West Africa football academy with an outlandish tactic succeeded in frustrating Hearts in a 1 all drawn game.

Hasaacas were in shambles again on their travel as they got thumped by 4 goals at Aduana. Yahaya Mohammed’s first ever career hattrick ensured that conservative Aduana stars registered their highest goal tally in topflight football.

Dreams FC were left shell shocked as a goal from an early blip stood to the end and handed Asante Kotoko consecutive wins for the first time this season.

Ashanti Gold FC were in the news for the right reasons for the first time in so many weeks emerging as 2-1 victors in the Adansi derby. Ebusua Dwarfs continued their surge to break away from the relegation zone with a 2-1 home win over fellow new entrants Techiman city FC. Liberty Professionals were unplayable at their Dansoman fortress recording a 3-1 scoreline against Berekum Chelsea.

CURBING THE BUSTER

Whipping up interest and reigniting the latent passion in the local game has not come without a struggle. Perilous factors which led to the near demise of the local league in times past are slowly creeping back into our game and especially at such a time when the league is on the ascendancy and interest has hit a crescendo.

Match venues which were supposed to be a haven for fans seeking entertainment in delectable football had metamorphosed into hostile arenas. The conscious connivance of security personnel with indigens to perpetrate violence and intimidate visitors to drive their own selfish agenda rendered venues unfriendly.

Another specter which haunted fans and scared them away was the poor standard of play coupled with substandard refereeing. With the outcome of a game at the mercy of the man in the middle and not dependent on a team’s effort, a match venue was obviously a place to abhor.

Against all odds this season got off to a promising start and the momentum has been kept afloat till this point. However just when sanity seemed to have prevailed we are slowly letting our guard loose. Certain busters gaining roots if not curbed will undo all the efforts which has got the league buzzing again.

The second half display of theatrics and antics by the West Africa football academy to frustrate everyone at the Ohene Djan stadium including themselves in midweek is a curb or burst canker. A team known for their attractive brand of football on the day decided to relinquish their values and resort to outlandishness. Their actions and inactions reduced the standard of play to zero and took every bit of steam out of the game.

The referee on the day watched on helplessly as he failed to stamp his authority on the game. Many a neutral fan were deprived of a beautiful spectacle and rendered dejected. The chorus was in unison and the message was crystal clear, “we are not coming back to be frustrated in this manner”.

At 1-1 the WAFA lads fell off by the minute like withered leaves in the advent of incessant pressure by the home side. Not only did they resort to taking to the turf without reason but also engaged in petty brawls with the red cross personnel to take the sting out of a potentially exciting game. Should the game be played in such spirit it wouldn’t take a prophet of doom to predict dooms day in terms of patronage by the close of the first round. Never again should football fans be treated to a theatrical display on a green stage.