Hearts beat Lions to maintain lead

Accra, April 1, GNA - Accra Hearts of Oak maintained their hold on the summit of the Glo Premier League standings after a lone goal victory over Kpando Heart of Lions in their Week 15 encounter at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra on Wednesday.

The result has ensured that the Phobians end the first round of the Premier League with a nine-point lead that keeps them on course for the ultimate.

The clash, which pitted the first and second placed Clubs on the standings against each other, failed to live up to expectation with a performance that made mockery of their positions. Lions who have never beaten Hearts at the Ohene Djan stadium since joining the elite division in 2003, started brightly with an output that made many to believe they were ready to break the jinx for once. That however turned out to be a hoax as their consistent squander of begging chances meant the record continued to stay on for at least this season.

The Lions should have gone up by at least two goals by the half-hour mark but Kofi Nti Boakye and Tanko Mohammed made a mess of chances too difficult to miss. Three minutes to the end of the first half, Boakye after tearing apart the Hearts defence surprisingly shot wide with only Hearts goalie Philemon McCarthy to beat. Two minutes on Tanko also headed wide after Abraham Annan had put him through.

The Phobians resumed the second half the more purposeful side and their efforts paid off 12 minutes later when petit midfielder and current goals leader, Obed Ansah struck home from close range after he was put through on a run.

The game from thence became a ding-dong battle characterized with near misses from both sides before Kumasi-based referee Patrick Kyeremateng brought proceedings to an end with the Phobians enjoying their victory. 31 March 09