Soccer News of Saturday, 22 March 2003
Source: Ransford Antwi
LG Top Four: Olympics fail to salvage image
Whipping boys Great Olympics, failed to salvage their image as they lost by a lone goal to Liberty Professionals in their final match of the LG Top Four Tournament played at the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday.
It was sad day for the followers of the Olympics most of whom have taken advantage of the "free gate", thronged the stadium to cheer their beloved club. The team played one of the beautiful footballs in the month-long tournament but found goal scoring a hard knot to crack.
The only two goals they scored in the tournament were all against Asante Kotoko but unfortunately lost in those two games - the first 1-3 in Kumasi and the second 1-2 at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Olympics finished last on the standings with no point with a goal difference of -11 while Liberty made a great second round comeback to collect nine points, placing third behind Hearts of Oak who as at Saturday were also on nine points but with a superior goal difference.
Hearts have a game in hand against their bitterest rivals, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, who are runner-away winners on 15 points- at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.
Liberty's right wingback Sammy Addo who became the surprised winner of the best player award on Saturday, fetched the Dansoman team only goal three minutes before recess, in a game that Olympics dominated.
Ablade Morgan hit the side net for Liberty in the 20th minute after William Tiero's surging runs while Oly's John Cudjoe's pile driver a minute later were the most exciting attempts at goal in the first half.
Addo popped up in the 42nd minute to deliver a left-footed volley, which went through the hands of goalkeeper Theophilus Mensah for the lone goal.
John Cudjoe brought the virtually empty stadium alive in the second half firing some characteristic desperate shots within a spate of seven minutes.
He fired a close range in the 54th minute, stretched goalkeeper Cudjoe Addo to his limit with a thunderbolt in the 72dn minute and a minute later, had his "pullet" pushed to corner.
Two minutes after the attack, Oly were unlucky not have gotten the needed equaliser when a series of shots were cleared on the goal line by the Liberty defenders.
Seventeen year-old Asamoah Gyan, who was promoted early this year to the Liberty senior team and who is currently joint top goal scorer in the tournament, failed to increase his tally when after capitalising on a miss-kick by goalkeeper Mensah, shot off target in the 87th minute.
