Ghana Black Stars vrs Lesotho Crocodiles

                       

If I had the opportunity of being the coach of the national team in the match against the Lesotho nation team, I will go in for the "kill" knowing in mind that there are tough opponents in the group, talking of the Zambia and the Sudan; goals will be of essence so as to scare other opponents.

I will play the Orthodox 4 – 4 – 2, I mean the natural one which involves wingers who can do the crossing for the strikers, my system will involve two midfielders with one having the mind of always attacking whilst the other stays to help the back four, my full backs should have the ability to attack on the flanks when the need arises, depending on how Lesotho approaches the game, which of course I know they will decide to sit back and soak pressure especially  in the first half, and if that happens, I will switch my formation to a 3 – 5 – 2, with this formation, I will drop my number (6), I mean the defensive midfielder will fall back to help the defense and then push the full backs to join the midfield, if this system becomes successful and i achieve my aim of scoring about three (3) goals within seventy (70) minutes, I will then return to the 4 – 3 – 3, this time I will take out one of the wingers and bring in someone who can hold the ball and distribute effectively and try to find the fourth (4) goal.

Starting Eleven (11)

 Adam Kwarasey

Samuel Inkoom

Richard Kissi Boateng

John Boye

Jerry Akaminko

Derek Boateng

Emmanuel Agyemang Badu

Kwadwo Asamoah

Sulley Muntari

Jordan Ayew

Emmanuel Clottey

Substitutes

Daniel Adjei

Ernest Sowa

Harisson Afful

Daniel Opera

Lee Addy

Daniel Addo

Anthony Annan

Rabiu Mohammed

Christian Atsu

Richard Mpong

Ben Acheamppong

Dominic Adiyia

        GLO PREMIER LEAGUE 2011/2012.

                    TOP FOUR BATTLE

The league is getting more exciting as the clock ticks to the end of the season, and as usual teams have already began jostling for the enviable top four competition which offers clubs some sort of relief for the following season, though Kumasi Asante Kotoko have to their disposal the league title some weeks to the end of the league, there is still everything to play for.

With just a match to the end of the season, Seven clubs, Medeama SC, Ashgold FC, Berekum Chelsea, Accra Hearts of Oak, Aduana Stars, New Edubiase United and Liberty Professionals stand the chance of playing in the top four, but this can only be possible if all win their last matches and allow the permutations that always take place to come in, the intensity of the league and the pressure of playing in the top four means some clubs will have to defy all odd and will their last match.

Medeama sc, who are second on the table based on the fact that they have a better head - to – head than Ashgold though they both have the same number of points, they travel all the way to Wa where they face a tough Wa All Stars side who have played some good football at the Wa park losing only one match to Accra Hearts of Oak, interestingly Medeama has only managed two away wins, and this puts them in a tight corner, this entails they pick at least a point from this fixture to say the least and expect favorable results from other matches, what will get Medeama SC going is the fact that, they have not lost any match  in their 9 outings, of the seven team involved, Medeama SC have better head –to –head than clubs like Liberty Professionals, New Edubiase, Ashgold and Berekum Chelsea, having all this in mind, Medeama SC will only expect some poor results from Accra Hearts of Oak and Aduana Stars.

Ashgold are better placed to win the second position of the league considering their opponents relatively poor showing in the second round of the league and more especially as they would be playing home away from home, if Ebusua Dwarfs stops the miners from taking the maximum points, then the Obuasi base club might not be able to be in the top four. Ashgold have better head – to - head only to Accra Hearts of Oak and New Edubiase and are tied with Aduana Stars on Head – to – Head, it is likely Accra Hearts of Oak will win their last match which puts Ashgold on tight position and the only option for them is to win against Ebusua Dwarf.

Berekum Chelsea have their destiny in the hands of Aduana Stars, if they win against Tudu Mighty Jets, they would gather points that will secure them top four but not after Aduana Stars have failed to take maximum points from Liberty Professionals, if Chelsea, Aduana and Hearts of Oak wins their matches, Aduana Stars will go ahead because they have a better head – to – head in terms of goal difference between those teams.

The only prayers that will be on the lips of Accra Hearts of Oak is to see Medeama SC and Aduana Stars fail in their effort at securing maximum points in their last matches, that will be the only respite for the Oak tree, for Hearts of Oak, things must not be the same, because they only have a better head – to – head to Aduana Stars and Medeama SC, but tied with New Edubiase. For them, all teams in the struggle for the top four must lose their last match whilst they win against Berekum Arsenals.

Liberty Professionals and New Edubiase Are under dogs who can only make it through to the lucrative top four position provided all the teams above them lose their last matches and see them win against their opponents, New Edubiase have a relatively easy task playing Bechem United whilst Liberty Professionals travel to Dormaa where they play Aduana Stars.

                                            PREDICTIONS:

From the above analysis, and the rate at which teams win their home matches in the league, Aduana Stars stand tall to pick one of the places for the top four competition, this leaves only two places up for grabs as Asante Kotoko has taken one of the slots, Ashgold could manage a draw with Ebusua Dwarfs which will not be enough to secure them a place in the top four, therefore I expect Medeama SC to fight hard and secure a point in their match at Wa, in this case they will automatically go through ahead of Ashgold and Hearts of Oak, CAF Champions league debutants Berekum Chelsea could occupy the remaining top four place if the mathematics are right.

                          EXPECTED TOP FOUR TEAMS:

Kumasi Asante Kotoko

Aduana Stars

Berekum Chelsea

Medeama SC

 Glo Premier League Week 29

The penultimate matches of the Glo premier league 2011/2012 season took place in eight (8) league centres across the country with almost all the teams fighting for various positions as the league draws to an end. Five teams Aduana Stars, Accra Hearts of Oak, Medeama SC, Ashgold and New Edubiase are all fighting for the lucrative top four position with each of them having 43 points entering the 29th week.

Bottom of the league log is even hotter than expected as four teams comprising Berekum Arsenals, Wassaman United, Bechem United and Tudu Mighty Jets also seeks to avoid the drop going into the penultimate round. Top on the fixtures was the Berekum Arsenals vs. Wassaman United clash at the Berekum Golden City Park; this match was characterized by tensions from the Arsenals camp, both teams went into action knowing nothing short of victory was going to be disaster to their ambition of securing their premiership status, in the end Berekum Arsenals triumphed over their opponent by a 2 - 1 victory which means Wassaman United becomes the first team to be relegated to the second tier of Ghana football. Another expected action packed match was the one involving Bechem United and Ebusua Dwarfs at the Bechem Park, the survival of Bechem United as far as the premier league is concerned depended heavily on this result, at the end of 90 min. they won by a solitary 1-0 which means they have to win their last match away to New Edubiase at the Gyamfi Park which looks very difficult.

At the Dansoman Liberty Stadium, CAF champions League Debutants Berekum Chelsea continued with their impressive form three days after beating Accra Hearts of Oak with a 1-1 draw with local side Liberty Professionals, these results also means Liberty Professionals lose out on the top four places, and ensure Chelsea go through to the top four if only they can win their last match at home to Tudu Mighty Jets. Medeama SC held onto their ambition of playing in this year’s top four with a 2-1 home win over Aduana Stars, at the Accra Sports Stadium, home side Mighty Jets needed to secure maximum points that could have given them some hope ahead of their last match against Berekum Chelsea, it was the expectation of local fans that Accra Hearts of Oak will help them by playing soft, but it was the other way round as they could only secure one point of a possible 3. Tema Youth continued their quest to stay in the premier league with a 1-0 victory over Wa All Stars at the Team Sports Stadium, Kpando Hearts of Lions revived their fortunes with a 1-0 win over high flying New Edubiase at their favorite Kpando Park, run away league leaders Kumasi Asante Kotoko travelled to Obuasi with the aim of building their points, but this search proved futile as the Miners beat them by 3-2.

        WEEK 30 POSSIBILITIES (BATTLE AGAINST RELEGATION)

The above results leaves Wassaman United relegated to the first division even if they win their last match, which is at home to Kpando Hearts of Lions, it also means Mighty Jets will have to beat Berekum Chelsea and expect Accra Hearts of Oak to also beat Berekum Arsenals, if this happens, Mighty Jets will go through having had a better head - to – head over Berekum Arsenals, this will only be possible if Bechem United losses their last match to New Edubiase, if Bechem United draws with New Edubiase, and Berekum Arsenals losses to Accra Hearts of Oak, Mighty Jets will go through if they win against Berekum Chelsea, Mighty Jets have better Head- to – Head over both Berekum Arsenals and Bechem United, If Bechem United pick a point from their match with New Edubiase whiles Berekum Arsenals lose to Accra Hearts of Oak, and Mighty Jets lose to Berekum Chelsea, Berekum Arsenals will go through because they have better head- to – head over Bechem United. The battle is indeed very tough for all this teams and I expect the better team to go through.

Expect the possibilities that might happen in the run up to the top four places, in the subsequent publications.

 

BEREKUM CHELSEA TO PLAY IN TOUGH GROUP

Ghana's Berekum Chelsea has been drawn in a tough group that comprises three former winners of the competition,The group which is made of six (6) times winners, Egypt's Al Ahly and their Cairo opponents Zamalek who have also won the trophy five (5) times, Democratic Republic of Congo's T.P. Mazembe who themselves have to their trophy cabinet four (4), complete the group.This group is indeed tough as it brings together the best clubs of in the Continent against a relatively new boys in the competition. It is the expectation of all Ghanaians that Chelsea make it to the semi - final stage which will give Ghana some points that will help push the bid for more slots in the continents most glamorous competition.Ghana is currently ranked 16th per the 2013 provisional ranking that was published by the continents soccer body. 

MAY 9 DISASTER AND THE LESSONS LEARNT

It is amazing how time really fly, 11 years ago May 9, 2001, the whole of Ghana and Africa to a larger extent mourned the death of 126 recorded precious lives of it's citizens.what makes the whole disaster something worth of remembrance is the fact that lessons seem not learned by the various stakeholders in the football world, the rampant agitation by club administrators, supporters, security personnel, officiating officials and the general public speaks volumes of how far we have come as a nation, some few weeks ago, supporters of Ebusua Dwarf went on rampage, asking that the life of referee Patrick Kyeremanteng be handed over to them, and significantly non of the hooligans who beat the official nearly to death has been arrested but rather the club has been left to suffer to punishment they had no hand in, this takes us to the Okudjeto commission that was set up to investigate and make recommendation as to how football must be organized in the country, the commission recommended ways to which security personnel will carry out their duty, this has been adhered to by the security personnel, the commission advised that entrance to our stadiums be made accessible as possible, some of this has been implemented.One area that the report failed to touch was the course of the disaster, which obviously can be attributed to crowed violence, supporter who took the law into their hands and vandalized properties at the stadium where not captured in the report, and this seem to give them the freedom to do what ever they like whenever they have the opportunity to come to the stadiums, many crowed violence has occurred almost all the centers that football is played in the country and all of these can only be attributed to fans of clubs, for them, there is nothing like lose on their dictionary which means whenever their clubs lose matches people will have to suffer for this.
There should be reforms in the way security personnel relate to fans, it is as if the laws of the land does not apply within our football stadiums, because it is common to see fans verbally abuse security personnel without due cause, For me it is time recalcitrant supporters are made to pay for their misbehavior and their irresponsible attitude towards match officials.
Just 11  years of May 9, have we really compensated the souls of the 126 recorded gallant men and women? we live to see (expect a follow up on the role of Kotoko And Accra Hearts of Oak)   

LIBERTY PROFESSIONALS OUT OF F. A. CUP

Dansoman based Liberty Professional's hopes of making it to the 1/8 stage of this year's MTN - F. A. cup fizzled to thin air when they lost narrowly to Tema Youth  in the round of 16 stage.
Liberty, playing under the instructions of Coach J. E. Sarpong, started the game with the intention of winning, but a resulute Tema Youth defense marshaled by Alexander Antwi and Zuberu Salifu made sure that every attack by Latif Salifu was annulled.
The midfield men of Youth had a tough task of neutralizing the efforts of Kwame Boahene, Kennedy Ashia and Isaac Sackey in midfield for Liberty pros.
Moses Odjeir made the decisive pass that changed the entire face of the game when He found Francis Narh whose superb finish won the day for the Tema Youth lads.
by this result, Liberty Pros. only hopes in the country as far as football is concerned is for the leadership of GALCA to go ahead and play the proposed top 8 competition, which replace the renowned top 4.

Final scores Liberty Professional 0 - 1 Tema Youth

                                          LINE UPs.

Liberty Professionals    vs          Tema Youth

1. Daniel Adjei                                                       22. Michael Adjei
4. Daniel Gyamfi                                                    15. Jeremiah Arkorful
12. Francis Morton                                                11. Alexander Antwi
14. Michael Annan                                                14. Kenneth Owusu
15. David Addo                                                     12. Zuberu Salifu
19. Isaac Sackey                                                    10. Derrick Mensah
8. Kwame Boahene                                                 5. Conney Klah
20. Kennedy Ashia                                                18.Moses Odjeir
10. Latif Salifu                                                       17. Daniel Appiah
11. Camara Ebriam                                                9. Francis Narh         Goal 45+1
17. Issa Yakubu                                                      8. Josuah Oninku
                       
                                  Susbstitutes
18. Richard Antwi                                                 13. Albert Osei
7. Yusif Ayoma                                                        2. Suleman Adam
13. Christopher Nkansah                                       4. Isaac Amoah
2. Baba Gullit                                                          3. Nicholas Odjeir
22. James Kotei                                                       7. Abel Armah Hammond
9. Ernest Baffoe                                                    16. Kofi Mensah.

LIBERTY PROFESSIONALS TAKE ON TEMA YOUTH.

Liberty Professional take on Tema Youth in the round of 16 MTN - FA cup match at the Liberty sports stadium today, Coach J. E. Sarpong's side seek to redeem their image in the F. A. cup after seemingly losing out on the top 4 position in the Glo premier league.
This fixture is one of few all premiership clashes after the Ashgold vs Wa All Stars and New Edubiase vs Hearts of Lions, which saw the home sides triumph over their opponents.
The match itself calls for much action after both sides edged past each other on home soil in the premier league and this match will determine the superior of the two.

GHANASPORTSFILLA HERE TO STAY

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