Hearts beat Egypt El Haly

Tripoli (Libya) -- Ghana’s Premier League champions, Accra Hearts of Oak moved closer to a $30,000 prized money when they beat Egypt’s El Haly National 2-1 in their opening match of the four-nation Ramadan Cup in Tripoli, Libya, on Tuesday.

Hearts, who honoured the tournament, involving also hosts Al Ittihad and Cameroon’s Canon Club of Yaonde, using their full squad and with an inclusion of Emmanuel Osei Kuffour, Ishmael Addo and Princeton Owusu Ansah, scored both goals through enterprising Wisdom Abbey. The Phobians were said to have had the better part of the exchanges.

The Ghanaian champions, who have just retained the league title for the sixth consecutive time, would face the might of Ittihad in the final match on Friday 22 November. The winner of the game pockets the attractive purse that was tied to the tournament to raise the bar.

Hearts were invited to the Ramadan competition based on their splendid performance at home and on the continent over the last six years which has seen them not only dominating domestic football from 1996 but also emerging as the 2000 CAF Champions League and Super Cup champions.