The Premier League so far: Five weeks of excitement

The Ghana Premier League takes a break this weekend after five rounds of action with runaway leaders, Accra Hearts of Oak and second-placed Wa All Stars the standout performers at this stage, while their opponents, namely Kumasi Asante Kotoko, AshantiGold and Medeama SC, have struggled to keep up.

The league has also seen a return of fans to the various stadia who have witnessed exciting football and some breathtaking goals by Aduana Stars’ Bright Adjei against Ashgold and Hearts’ Samuel Yeboah. New kids on the block, including Evans Mensah and Samudeen Ibrahim, are looking to make a name for themselves this season.

In this piece, the Graphic Sports takes a look at the winners and losers of what has been a thrilling season thus far.

The undefeated - Hearts (1st), Ashgold (7th) and All Stars (2nd)
No team has a 100 per cent record in the division but three teams — Accra Hearts of Oak, Ashgold and Wa All Stars — remain undefeated after five rounds of games.

With 13 points from 4 wins and a draw, Hearts lead second-placed Wa All Stars by two points while defending champions Ashgold (4 draws, 1 win) are without victory in four games since beating Medeama 2-1 in week 1 and lie in seventh place.

Dreams FC lost their unbeaten run last Sunday after losing 1-0 to Techiman City FC at the Nana Ameyaw Park.

The draw specialists — Ashgold (Four draws)

Bashir Hayford's Ashgold side have drawn the most games — four.
The Soccer Miners have played two scoreless draws against Kotoko and Ashgold, as well as 1-1 draws against Hasaacas and Aduana Stars.

The best defence - All Stars (Conceded one goal in five games)

Wa All Stars have the best defence in the league having conceded just one goal in five matches — an average of 0.2 goals per game.

Emmanuel Lomotey of Dreams FC scored against the Wa lads in their 1-1 drawn game at the Dawu Park in the fourth week fixture.

Berekum Chelsea has also conceded just once but have played a game less (4) than All Stars (5).

The worst defence —Hasaacas (Conceded 12 goals in five games)

Sekondi Hasaacas have the worst defence in the division, having let in 12 goals in five games -- an average of 2.4 goals per game.

The Giants of the West were involved in the biggest thrashing of the season after West Africa Football Academy (WAFA) handed them a 5-0 drubbing at Sogakope.

Unsurprisingly, Yusif Basigi’s Hasaacas also have the worst goal difference (-7) in the top flight.

The best attack - Hearts (Scored nine goals in five games)

The league leaders have the best attack in the league after bagging nine goals — an average of 1.8 goals per game.

All nine goals by Hearts have been scored by six different players. New boy Musah Ibrahim, Isaac Mensah and Samuel Yeboah all have two goals to their name while Eric Kumi, Cosmos Dauda and Mustapha Essuman have scored a goal each.
The worst attack - Dwarfs (No goals scored)

Ebusua Dwarfs despite having last year's Division One League top scorer, Bright Lukman in their ranks are yet to find the net since returning to the top flight despite having a game in hand.

Their desperate plight in front of goal has seen their coach J.E. Sarpong publicly criticise Lukman who scored 30 goals in the Division One to fire Dwarfs into the top flight.

Leading marksmen - Samuel Tetteh (WAFA - four goals)

Youngster, Samuel Tetteh leads the goal-king race with four goals despite drawing blank in last Sunday's home win against Liberty Professionals.
The Black Stars midfielder reached his four-goal tally in only two homes games — scoring one on the opening day against Kotoko and grabbing the only hat-trick of the competition so far as the WAFA routed Hasaacas 5-0 at Sogakope on matchday three.

Hot on the heels of Tetteh are Sadick Adams of Berekum Chelsea and Hasaacas’ Eric Bekoe, who are tied on three goals each.

However, 10 other players namely, Maxwell Baako (All Stars), Lawson Bekui (Dreams), Samuel Yeboah (Hearts of Oak), Latif Blessing (Liberty), Baba Mahama (Techiman City), Richard Arthur (Wa All Stars), Frederick Boateng (Inter Allies) with Musa Ibrahim and Isaac Mensah all of Hearts of Oak, have scored two goals each.

The league leaders - Hearts (First place)

Even the most optimistic Hearts fan could not have predicted such a brilliant start to the season, especially after an underwhelming pre-season campaign which placed Coach Kenichi Yatsuhashi appointment under intense scrutiny.

However, the appointment of previously unknown Japanese-American appears a masterstroke on account of his performance win the league so far, handing the Phobians their best league start in 10 years.

The last time Hearts amassed exactly 13 points from their opening five games in 1999 they went on to win the league.

The bottom three - Hasaacas (14th), Dwarfs (15th) and Medeama (16th)
Among the three teams occupying the relegation places, Hasaacas (four points) are the only side to have played five games, while Dwarfs (two points) have an outstanding game against Medeama (one point).

Hasaacas along with Aduana Stars and New Edubiase United are tied on four points but occupy the relegation zone on account of their desperate away form which has left them with a poor goal difference of -7 after losing to WAFA (5-0), All Stars (3-0) and Kotoko (1-0).

Dwarfs could escape the relegation zone today when they travel to play MTN FA Cup champions, Medeama in an outstanding clash at the T&A Park.

The breakout superstars

Samudeen Ibrahim (Hearts) - Last year’s Division One hotshot made his premiership debut and only appearance against New Edubiase United on the opening day of the season and his name has since been on the lips of many fans for his silky skills. The 18-year-old will, however, be hoping to feature in more games as the season goes on.

Richard Ofori (All Stars) - The Wa All Stars goalie has been an influential member of a team which has conceded only once this season and his brilliant form has earned him his first call-up to the senior national team.

Evans Mensah (Inter Allies) - The tricky left-winger has been a thorn in the flesh of many defenders in the league and has already been named man of the match in all three games played by his team, Inter Allies at their home ground, the Tema Stadium.

Musah Ibrahim (Hearts) - Ibrahim burst onto the national consciousness last Sunday when he came off the bench to fire a brace which handed Hearts a 2-3 result at Inter Allies. It remains to be seen whether Ibrahim is going to be a flash in the pan or go on to realise his full potential.

The goal hunters

The early stages of the league has witnessed some memorable goals with Bright Adjei’s late acrobatic volley for Aduana against Ashgold currently the talk of town.

Honourable mention also goes to Malik Akowuah’s long-range free-kick against Kotoko and another volley from his teammate in the same game which handed Medeama a 2-2 draw.

After five matches, WAFA’s Samuel Tetteh, currently leads the scoring chart with four goals in five matches, with experienced attackers Saddick Adams and 2007-2008 goal-king Eric Bekoe with three goals each.