Opinion: SuperClash proves emotions still raw for Hearts and Kotoko

It has come to define Ghanaian club football. The atmosphere, the colour, the noise, the long queues before games and the drama.

When Hearts and Kotoko meet it is never just about the football. It is a football lesson you learn very early in Ghana. It is about identity, for some a rebellion.

There was a time when we assumed that the invasion of foreign football on television was beginning to erode that intensity. Some said people didn't care again, that kids were more concerned about Wayne Rooney than they are about who is the hottest new kid on the block for Kotoko.

In a way it is still true. Foreign football is king, but local football never went away and this season is proving it.

Monday also proved that Hearts-Kotoko can match up to any fixture in the world in terms of attracting fans. When advanced tickets went on sale across gas stations in the country, they sold fast. By match day the Accra Sports Stadium was filled to the rafters with the young, old, men, women, died in the wool fans and those who simply wanted a taste of what we have come to christen Super Clash.

Not since Ghana 2008 when the Black Stars were the coolest boys in town have we seen attendance like that before. In recent years when the Black Stars have played at home in Accra, the attendance has been anything close to this.

The reasons for the intense interest are many. Hearts had emerged from a relegation threatened team to make a superb start to the campaign. Their Japanense coach Kenichi Yatsuhashi has instilled belief. It seeped through the fan base. Kotoko on the other hand were on the ropes, battered for much of this season and seemingly in for a long haul.

For long spells Hearts looked like the form team too. In a way Yatsuhashi is right when he says they were unlucky. Cosmos dude had chances to make Kotoko uncomfortable, but didn't take them. In the end, Hearts did Kotoko a favour in more ways than one.

Soulama Abdoulaye had come unto the pitch in Accra like a man possesed. He pumped his fists, beat his chest, milked the applause. Having joined Hearts of Oak after seven years at Kotoko in controversial circumstances, he felt he had a point to prove. He had called this 'just another game'. 

It turns out it is a game that sadly will define his career in Ghana football. No one will quiet remember the excellent stops, the brave saves. It is almost like his Burkina Faso career when he started at the Nations Cup in 2013 but then got sent off for handling the ball outside his box. He never recovered from it.

There was a sending off in Accra too when he rushed out to confront Dauda Mohammed even when it seemed Robin Gnagbe had it covered. When Awal Mohammed's red card came out, it summed up a day of utter misery for Soulama. In his time in Ghana football, the images many people will remember will be the one of him in tears and talking to himself in the moments after the goal. It was a comical error, the type that makes the reel for funny football videos. But you could feel for him. He would be called a lot of names, his professionalism will be questioned and his intergrity scrutinised.

It is smart then that his coach Kenichi Yatsuhashho as jumped to his defence and claimed he still trust him. Whether the Hearts faithful will continue to do so is another issue all together.

For Kotoko this was badly needed. They are still four points over Hearts but this restores some belief. It also adds to yet more compelling evidence that rather than parachute an expatriate from nowhere, Michael Osei may have what it takes to get Kotoko competitive again.

As for the rest of us, this is a game that proved once again that local football retains a strong attraction. The game dominated trends on Twitter and was the only subject anyone who cared about football on Facebook spoke about.

If only we could repeat it after every week. Sadly it is a no but we saw enough on Monday to appreciate once again that while local football has it's challenges, no amount of television exposure can erase the raw emotions that Hearts and Kotoko inspire. And that is a good thing for  Ghana football.