Hearts Must End Trophy Drought

It has been six long years since Ghana’s premier club, Accra Hears of Oak last won a major trophy and most fans of the club have been asking when that drought would end as this football club has been known to be associated with success on a consistent basis.

The failure top claim silverware is something that is not associated with the club’s history and culture as statistics and facts available shows that it has won titles at regular intervals.

The last time Hearts of Oak won something meaningful was in season 2008/09 when they won the premiership title in Ghana, closing the campaign with a point’s tally of 52 after 30 games.

Hearts of Oak finished third the following season with 47 points the following season; third again in the 2011/12 season also with 47 points; fifth with 49 points in the 2012/13 period and third last season.

The performance of the team was not that encouraging inbetween this period, and this partly explains why perhaps the team has failed to win any silverware since.

Questions being asked by most supporters is when this stalemate would for this will come as welcome news to the Phobian family if they will have something to cheer home about at the end of this season.

Fortunately, the team is competing on three fronts as they are heavily involved in all domestic competitions (the premiership, the FA Cup and the Elite Cup cup).

In the top-flight league, Hearts of Oak are eighth with 24 points after 17 games nine points adrift of leaders Ashantigold SC with 13 games to end the season.

There is still a lot of football to be played in this campaign with 39 points to be won, meaning there is a very long way to go in determining who would win the title at the end of the period.

In trying to win a first title in six years, Hearts of Oak will need to take full advantage of its home games for the reminder of the campaign by claiming maximum points and put pressure on those above them, seeking to take advantage of possible slip ups.

A lot will depend on how teams above the Phobians fare as the drama unfolds, but there is every chance of mounting a serious challenge for the title and this should push the team going until all is won and lost.

Perhaps the biggest prospect of winning silverware this season could come in the FA Cup competition where the team has successfully negotiated their way to the semi-finals where they will play the winner of the quarter final tie involving Medeama SC and the West Africa Football Academy, WAFA.

Ironically, in this year’s competition, Hearts of Oak is the only club yet to concede a goal at this stage and, the prospects are looking good of a first title since 2000, the year the club also won the CAF Champions league competition.

Defeating either Medeama SC or WAFA should not be beyond the Phobians and, it will mean booking a place in the finals of the competition and an opportunity to add to the record nine titles that the club holds in this competition since it was started in 1958.

Hearts of Oak will look to set another record by becoming the first team to win the Elite clubs competition, a tourney introduced this season for premier and division one clubs.

The Phobians have been paired with premier division side Medeama SC together with Elmina Sharks and Ebusua Dwarfs from the first division in one pool of four.

The 16 clubs left in the competition are playing in a mini league format on a home and away basis with the top two sides from each pool advancing to the quarter finals before the semi-final and then the final is played.

Hearts of Oak should be able to negotiate their way smoothly from their group and move on from there, aiming for the ultimate.

Thereminder of the season promises to be good for this football club and all things being equal, the team should be well placed to end the six year wait for silverware.

This indeed will be welcome news for the numerous supporters of the club who have been denied some bragging rights when engaging their contemporaries elsewhere in football arguments in Ghana.