Bank Of Ghana Hockey Club On A Winning Spree

Exchequers of Bank of Ghana, in this year's Hockey Season, has unleashed its indomitableness by clinging onto a robust tactic and exuding a match-upon-match wrath to all teams featured on the Sapholda Hockey calendar without expressing any scintilla of lousy performance thereabout. Team Exchequers has swept the highly prestigious Homowo Cup organized by Sapholda Ventures Limited with a gold medal last Saturday, 28^th of September, 2018.

The Governor of Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Kwamena Yedu Addison will from today have in his cabinet three highly coveted trophies from no other sporting discipline than the Bank of Ghana’s most dignified sports, Hockey. Among these trophies are the Sapholda Hockey Gala, Sapholda Hockey League and Sapholda Homowo Hockey Challenge. The Governor has shown his benevolence by supporting the game of hockey, and as economics made it seemingly clear to us that "nothing ventured nothing gained", thus players of Exchequers have executed professional sportsmanship in the hockey arena by ensuring that all the underprops from the Governor of Bank of Ghana would not be left unused but tapped productively, therefore bearing forth fruits of three trophies.

A coalition of Hockey enthusiasts had hobnobbed together with some traditional rulers of the Ga-Adangme towns in some years ago to significantly contribute their quota in the annual Homowo Festival. History is replete of the rationale behind the celebration of Homowo which happens to be the festival of the people of Ga and certainly the location where the edifice of the Theodosia Okoe Hockey Pitch is erected. Ghana Hockey Association [G.H.A], in every year, joins the meme of hooting hunger which wrecked the people of Ga in centuries ago, leaving them stranded as they wallowed in starvation. This agenda from the hockey people was acquiesced by the traditional rulers and the first tournament of Homowo Hockey Challenge kicked off, and up today, it is still being played. Mantse [King] Nii Ashi Komowua the second of Bubuashie, Asanfoanye Odjanye the first of Kaneshie, Henema Kydimo of Aburi, Nana Awo Kyekyeh, Florence Ashiaki Dede Narteyof Dodowa-Aperko were all present to grace the tournament to perfection, and notwithstanding the presence of the former President of Ghana Hockey Association, Mr. Oko-Nikoi Dzani the managing director of NDK financiers and Mr. Adolph Adjei the chief Executive Officer of Sapholda Ventures limited.

It was a “all-play-all” tournament which saw the top four teams of the just ended Sapholda Hockey League rubbing shoulders to see who is fit for the trophy. The participated teams were the following; Bank of Ghana [men only], Ghana Revenue Authority [men and women], Ghana Police Service [men and women], Ghana Prisons Service [men and women], Ghana Fire Service [women only], teams from the Master’s division which include; Osu, La, Tema, Ga, Teshie and Nungua. Osu La won the trophy for the master’s division. The battle turned a hot pursuit immediately the whistle was blown at exactly 7:00, Ghana Police and Exchequers played the first match of the day. However, the winner was decided on penalties with Police emerging successful with 3 goals against the two goals Exchequers scored. Ghana Revenue Authority [GRA] also played an intensive match with Ghana Police which again resulted to penalty and [GRA] was the fortunate team. Ghana Prisons Service was the sacrificial team of the day; [GRA], Police and Exchequers all bullied team Prison to fitly claimed the 3 points. After these matches, the three teams where left with a deciding match which would be used in crowning the winner either with just a goal or 3 points different ahead of the rest of the two teams [GRA] and Exchequers. [GRA] was with only 3 points, Ghana Police was debited with 5 points whereas Exchequers could only show temerity with only 3 points also.

The last match of the day was betwixt Exchequers and Ghana Revenue Authority. [GRA] needed just a draw or win to meander to the top whereas Ghana Police was then living in the dreams of comfortable lead because of the leading 5 points they have already gotten. With this mind-set they were in the stands witch-crafting Bank of Ghana to slack or both teams to play a draw so that they would be crowned as the champions.

Mr. Frank-Oti Mensah the chairman of Exchequers of Hockey club and some members from the welfare department of Bank of Ghana as they expected Exchequers to outplayed [GRA] in the Fetu Afahye Hockey tournament which was played September, but this could not have materialized. They were reassured by the able players of Exchequers led by Captain Emmanuel Ankomah that vengeance would be taken for this woeful defeat caused by [GRA]. So Saturday’s Homowo Challenge which had its final match titled as the “Clash of the Titans” was a game of retribution in a similar faction of the final match played at Cape Cost between the same teams which GRA won just in the last second.

Bank of Ghana Hockey team put smiles on the faces of the hockey people this time round and again with a goal at the time that [GRA] has hankered that they are going to be crowned as the Homowo champions for 2018 with the draw theory they were chanting from the blast of the whistle. In the last 2 minutes of the game, Exchequers Hockey club was awarded a penalty corner as a result of a reckless defensive tackle from [GRA] in the low-risk area of the pitch. The penalty corner was ejected but this time round, players of Exchequers changed their class to a rather dummy passing technique. Elorm Akaba after stopping the ball continued the chain of passing to Agbele Akpene. He was expected to give a powerful flick but gave a swerved pass to Abdur Rahman Odoi Anum Pobee just after the penalty spot, and as he stopped the ball, upon anticipation of Goalkeeper Acheampong of [GRA], who lied down expecting the ball to be played in a direct position to be saved by his spacious goalkeeper’s pad. Abdur Rahman in his savvy lofted the ball in a complete different altitude above the goalkeeper’s reach and a goal was finally scored in some few minutes to full time. After a brief jubilation, [GRA] hastily passed the ball with another expectancy of equalizing the scored goal, it was then that Umpire Nii Armarh whistled to mark the end of the game, leaving team [GRA] looking despondent while players of Exchequers were busily wriggling their waist to the tune of good composed music by ‘Wolome’, sang by a live band group, yesterday at the pitch.

In the women’s division, Ghana Fire Service and Prison Service played against each other because their matches against the top two teams rivals were tough and they could not sail through. The final match was between Ghana Revenue Authority and Ghana Police Service; it was indeed a match of class, a game of well-defined theories and tactics and a game of heaven help those who help themselves. Both teams are tactically, mentally, physically and psychologically sound so the best was what spectators were looking out for, and it was delivered by our vibrant hockey ladies. However, Ghana Revenue Authority was defeated by Ghana Police women through a penalty shoot out. The Goals were from Nafisatu Umaru and Esther Osroagbo marked the triumphant entry for Ghana Police Service to take a revenge on Ghana Revenue Authority since they had become their slave masters in the game of hockey for a tad time.

It is just unfortunate that the Juvenile teams who are the future of Ghana Hockey were side-lined in the tournament for reasons not known to us, but we believe that in the subsequent Homowo tournaments to come the Executives of the Greater Accra Hockey would feature them on such matches so that they would mirror playing for the premiere teams and National team in the future.

I trust we shall all converge, coming Saturday [6^th October, 2018], on the Theodosia Okoe Pitch to cheer our various teams for the commencement of the Sapholda Hockey Knockout which shall be held weekly from the date above to 27th October, 2018.

Surely, this year Exchequers of Bank of Ghana has dominated Ghana Hockey without mincing words.

May the Good Lord bless all sports men that Mother Ghana has bred and the unceasing sponsors.