Premier League Results/Reports/Table

Here are the results of the Kinapharma Premier league matches played throughout the country today. B/A United 1-0 Goldfields Lions 0-0 Bofoakwa Tano Mine Stars 1-1 Hearts Of Oak B. Arsenal 0-1 Kotoko (Joe Otchere) Olympics 0-0 Hassacas Faisals 2-0 Power F/C Stay Cool 1-0 RTU Okwahu 2-0 Liberty Hasaacas Hold Olympics Angry fans of Great Olympics "exploded" after the club's painful 0-0 drawn game against visiting Sekondi Hasaacas in the 21st-week Kinapharma Premier league clash at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday, calling for the removal of head coach Emmanuel Kwesi Afranie. The coach was accused of benching some key players including playmaker Joe Tagoe who was introduced late into the game and also for failing to issue out instructions to his boys when the going got tough. And while the Oly fans were fuming over what they termed poor showing by Afranie, coach David Duncan of Hasaacas also thought he was unlucky not have beaten his former club. The two sides drew 1-1 in their first round encounter at the Gyandu Park to set the tone for what many connoisseurs said will be a compact game. Oly were on top in the match characterized by lots of midfield actions while the attackers lacked urgency to score. Hasaacas' Isaac Quainoo missed the target from close range in the 20th minute and six minutes later, he hesitated to finish off after beating an offside trap only for goalkeeper John Adjetey to tidy up. After those two major incursions in the first half, Hasaacas made intermittent onslaughts but their inexperienced attackers especially Gariba Haruna made heavy weather of the situations. The Olympics firepower was imminent at the last quarters of the game as they kept the goal area of the visitors boiling. The solid Hasaacas defenders however, managed to eclipse the ferocious sprints down the flanks by Oly's Paa Joe Kumah and Winfred Dormon, cutting the needed supply for skipper Amui Quaye to score. Disaster nearly struck Olympics in the 42nd-minute when Haruna stamped on the chest of onrushing goalie Adjetey but Kumasi-based referee Ali Musa Plato was lenient to have shown him the yellow card. Play was held up for two minutes to enable the goalie to be treated. Three minutes after recess, Amui was unlucky to have shot his side ahead as he saw his diving flick-on take a ricochet off the upright and minutes later, Paa Joe's pile driver just across the "18" brought out the best in goalkeeper Mutiu Ahmed as he expertly dived to grab the ball. Afranie was booed in the 72nd minute when he substituted Paa Joe for Botchway Aryetey. Olympics launched an incessant attack in the final stages of the game to score and possibly avoid being harassed by their fans but it never materialized. Coach Afranie pleaded with the fans in an interview with the GNA Sports later to calm down saying, "the club cannot win all the time". He reckons though that the club lacks quality arrowheads to score and promised to address the problem soon. Faisal Beat Power F/C In Kumasi, King Faisal played a determined game to beat Power F/C 2-0 to collect the three-points at stake in their Kinaphama Premier league match played at the stadium. Faisal, who were a delightful side outplayed their opponents in the match which was watched by a sparse crowd and fetched their first goal in the 28th minute through Hamza Mohammed when his free-kick taken just outside the penalty box sailed through a forest of legs into the net. The homesters made it two in the 49th minute when Kwadwo Opoku outpaced a defender and planted the ball at the blind side of on-rushing Abubakari Sullemana in goal for Power F/C. It was Faisal who kicked off but the visitors quickly took over, had a free-kick within the first minute but wasted it as Felix Gbadegbe's shot went over the bar. Faisal accepted the challenge and made series of incursions into the area of their opponents but missed all the chances that came their way until Hamza's opener and was followed by Kwadwo Opoku's second goal. The visitors attacking machinery led by smallish Kwesi Badi, Alex Awuah and Kaasum Sullemana could not penetrate the iron clad defence of Faisal until referee Jonathan Laryea of Accra whistled for the end of hostilities. Kotoko Beat Arsenal At Berekum, Joe Ochere scored in the 76th minute to secure victory for Kumasi Asante Kotoko against Arsenals and ensured that the Porcupine Warriors widened the gap on top of the league table as arch rivals Hearts Of Oak failed to win at Prestea. Ochere, who has not been able to pin down a regular shirt this season beat goalkeeper Justice Quacoo with a tricky shot to make the difference between the two sides in a match, which was very well contested. The home side attacked early in the match and had a chance through Awudu Ronaldo but Kotoko's goalkeeper Louis Quainoo was alert and rose to the occasion with a bold save. Francis Bossman pushed his colleagues forward with excellent balls but their desire and willingness to win could not defeat the Kotoko back line which made stout efforts through Joe Hendrix and Issah Ahmed to nullify the penalty box invasion of their hosts. By the half hour mark, action was reduced to the midfield as both sides played cautiously without creating any clear cut chances. The second half was more business like as the Kumasi boys stepped up in gear and subjected their hosts to persistent pressure but Michael Osei had a very bad day as he wasted chance after chance. Yusif Chibsah stole the midfield shine from his opponents and compelled his mates in the Kotoko line up to pick his passes, which punched holes in the Arsenals defence. It was one of such moments, which set up Ochere to beat Quacoo for the only goal to send the teeming fans of the league leaders into euphoria. Hearts Draw Defending champions Accra Hearts of Oak failed to maintain the pressure on leaders Asante Kotoko when they managed only a point from their match against Mine Stars. It ended one goal apiece. Kotoko are now three points clear at 48 while Hearts stay on 45 points. Hearts took a ninth minute lead through Ablade Morgan who connected home a pull out from central defender Dan Quaye who had broken free on the right to make the cross. The defending champions could have gone further ahead in the first half but Bernard Don Bortey's effort missed narrowly while Morgan lost out in a physical battle getting to the end of the half. In the second half, Mine Stars resorted to manly tackles as Bortey was persistently hacked down anytime he had possession. The tactics benefited the homers as they took control of the game and subjected Hearts to intense pressure. Just five minutes into the half, George Yara beat goalkeeper Sammy Adjei to even scores. With a quarter of an hour remaining, coach Herbert Addo pulled out a visibly tired Bortey for Kenneth Sarpong but the pint size winger failed to make any meaningful mark on the game. As Nigerian import Paul Nwokolo shone in midfield and sprayed accurate passes to his Mine Stars' attackers, Emmanuel Osei and Dan Coleman too shone at the heart of the Hearts defence to keep the attackers in check. Bofoakwa and Lions share honours Kpando, Sept. 14, GNA - Tano Bofoakwa playing a well-knit defensive game held Kpando Heart of Lions to a goalless draw game in their Kinapharma 21st week Premier league dwell at Kpando.
Heart of Lions were on top in the first half during which they missed two glaring chances but faded out in the dull second half allowing the visitors to do most of the running. The home boys failed to lift up their game to enable to snatch the vital three points at stake to the annoyance of their loyal followers. After the match angry fans of the homesters went after FIFA Referee Joseph Wellington of Accra, alleging he had been bias forcing him to remove his 'top' to outwit them. Kinapharma Premier League Standings Accra, Sept. 14, GNA - Standings of the 16-club Kinapharma Premier League after the 21st-week matches played on Sunday. HOME AWAY CLUBS P W L D F A ... P W L D F A GD..pts Kotoko 10 8 0 2 20 5 11 6 1 4 14 6 23 48 Hearts 10 6 0 4 17 5 11 6 0 5 13 4 21 45 King Faisal 11 7 2 2 19 7 10 4 3 3 12 7 17 38 Arsenals 11 8 2 1 14 4 10 3 6 1 8 11 7 35 Goldfields 10 8 1 1 19 4 11 1 3 7 9 12 9 32 Liberty 10 4 1 5 13 7 11 4 5 2 12 16 2 31 Olympics 11 5 2 4 13 8 10 1 4 5 7 11 1 27 Hasaacas 10 6 0 4 12 5 11 0 8 3 3 14 -4 25 Lions 11 6 1 4 16 9 10 1 9 0 5 20 -8 25 Mines Stars 11 7 1 3 11 3 10 0 9 1 1 18 -9 25 R T U 10 5 3 2 10 4 11 0 6 5 3 18 -9 22 B. A United 11 6 2 3 9 7 10 1 9 0 6 19 -11 22 Power 11 3 4 4 5 8 10 2 6 2 5 10 -8 21 Bofoakwa 10 5 3 2 10 7 11 0 8 3 3 13 -7 20 Okwawu 11 4 4 3 12 13 10 0 6 4 3 10 -8 19 Stay Cool 10 3 4 3 6 9 11 1 7 3 5 17 -15 18