Acheampong denied date with destiny

AshGold coach Joachim Yaw Acheampong is an unhappy man not only because his team lost the FA Cup final, but also that his date his destiny has been cancelled - or in his words, "postponed".

Acheampong was only 11 years when the team he coached yesterday entered their first FA Cup final. In 1984, AshGold were not anywhere near as well-resourced and motivated as they are now.

Then known as Ashanti Goldfields, they were a Second Division side (in what is now called Division One) who were coming to the fore. They had no players of note, making their qualification into the final against Asante Kotoko all the more remarkable.

They lost 1-0 with their heads held high, because that Kotoko team was one of the Kumasi side's best ever, including several of those who had taken part in Ghana's 1982 African Cup winning feat.

Acheampong's moment
But a decade later, the resurgence of the Obuasi club was taking shape. Almost unlimited cash from mining giants Goldfields and a renewed focus on the team from its management led to astute recruitment. Yaw Acheampong had returned from a dizzying run in the 1992 Olympics when Ghana took bronze in the football.

Together with current Hearts of Oak coach Charles Akonnor dictating play and scoring at will, as well as the club legend that was Ashanti Goldfields' outfield player, Sammy Adjei, the Obuasi side went on a terror campaign in all competitions in Ghana.

"Those were good days. Team chemistry was there. We were young but we had experience. We were motivated. And we won everything," Acheampong tells SuperSport.com. This was in 1993 and the team chemistry came from crack players like Togolese player Nibombe Wake (pronounced Nee-Bombay Wa-kay), Lawrence Adjei and the recently recruited

Charles Akonnor from Okwahu United.
That year saw the beginning of the Ghana Premier League as we know it today. Ashanti Goldfields romped to a stunning win of the title, but they did not end there. "I was the captain of the side. For the next two years the team won the league again. We were the team of the moment."

Indeed they were, and Ashanti Gold took their form into the FA Club final against Dwarfs. The Cape Coast side had not been in the final since 1968 and they were eager to unsettle the parade of Acheampong's side. But in one of the most thrilling finals of that decade, Acheampong and his boys won 4-3.

"Don't forget we had a team that included some guys who had been at Olympics with me, so the expectation was tight!"

Expectation encore
That expectation was tight again on Sunday, with Acheampong, now a Uefa licensed coach, looking to make history as the first man to win the prestigious competition as coach and player.

"We lost as a result of bad officiating," he said after Edubiase beat him 1-0. He added: "I'm not someone who usually speaks on officiating but he was appalling on the afternoon," Acheampong accused Joseph Lamptey in a post-match interview.

He also saw his midfielder, Eric Opoku, sent off for a second yellow card after fouling Edubiase's Emmanuel Mensah but the 38 year old gaffer says he will return. "My destiny will be written. Maybe not today. Today Edubiase have won but destiny has only been postponed."

AshGold finished second in the last premier league, after a shaky start ended when Acheampong took over from Croat Zvradko Logarusic. His coaching style has been praised especially with the rapport created around the AshGold dressing room in recent months.

We await the fulfilment of his destiny - if it should ever come.

Report: Gary Al-Smith/Twitter: @garyalsmith