Hearts lost the spiritual ‘war’ to Kotoko on Monday – Aziz Haruna Futah

Former Hearts of Oak Management member Abdul Aziz Haruna Futah has maintained that their 1-0 loss to Asante Kotoko was down to their weak spiritual preparations.

Futah, who is known in the local media for his love for Hearts of Oak, has blamed management for failing to meet all the spiritual demands ahead of the big game against Kotoko. Hearts conceded a freak goal which shocked many and consigned them to a 1-0 defeat at the Accra Sports Stadium.

Goalkeeper Abdoulaye Soulama curled in a back pass into his own net on 43 minutes and that left many wondering how that happened. But Futah believes supernatural powers played a role in the goal.

'You can call every coach who has been involved in the super clash and find out Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko games are decided at the spiritual level,' Futah told Citi Sports on Thursday.

'After you have promised them the boots and promised them the bonuses what is left is the spiritual part and we failed.'

'There is some we the Hearts of Oak fans are failing to do and we must start looking at that.'

Hearts play away to Berekum Chelsea on Sunday in Week 11 of the Ghana Premier League but they will have to contend with playing three matches at home behind closed doors following a decision made the GFA's Disciplinary Committee after fans threw objects onto the pitch during Hearts' 3-1 home loss to Wa All Stars in April.