Five talking points from 2024/25 Ghana Premier League matchday 10 

The games in the 2024/25 Ghana Premier League are coming thick and fast, delivering sensational moments as the quest to reign supreme intensifies.

Asante Kotoko lost for the third time on the spin when Bechem United subjected them to a third loss while Hearts of Oak picked up their first back-to-back win of the season.

3Sports gives a comprehensive breakdown of the weekend’s key happenings.

 

Hearts of Oak strike gold with Super sub, Wayo

Hearts of Oak have found a remedy, not just to their goal-scoring problems but their underwhelming performances.

Mawuli Wayo has emerged as a solution, but it remains to be seen if it will last the test of time, or he will be a a temporary fix for the Phobians.

But so far, in the last two games, Wayo has come off the bench and made an instant impact. Against Medeama, he headed in from close range to give Hearts of Oak a two-goal cushion.

Likewise, he popped up to backheel his attempt into a gaping goal as Hearts won 1-0 on Friday night.

Hearts of Oak fans, and under-fire head coach Aboubakar Ouattara will not be too concerned – especially in a period where top scorer Hamza Issah’s goals have dried up.

Wayo’s goal moved Hearts to 15 points and, most importantly, above fierce rivals Asante Kotoko.

Wayo will hope his performance off the bench earth him a starting berth in subsequent games

 

Dreams FC’s old guard pops up amongst inexperienced bunch to seal first win

Dreams FC’s veteran skipper Joseph Esso was at the fore as his lone goal sealed the Still Believe lads’ first win of the season.

On the 10th time of asking, after head coach Karim Zito cited inexperience for his side’s defeat to Hearts of Oak on Matchday seven and their general underwhelming performance throughout the season, Esso made sure that seemed a distant memory.

After four defeats and five draws, Dreams have finally recorded a win. A win that would very much be welcomed by their veteran boss Karim Zito who will see it as a turning point to kick-start their season.

 

Goal-scoring woes haunt Asante Kotoko as they lose third successive game

Kotoko were far from their best as they suffered another defeat yet again. This time, the Porcupine Warriors’ defeat was at a familiar ground, Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park.

Since 2016, Kotoko are yet to win a game in Bechem and their low goal-scoring returns ahead of this game always made it a tricky tie to navigate.

Essentially, the injury to top scorer Albert Amoah derailed their momentum heading into the game. Although being low-scorers in the league, Amoah has contributed to five of Kotoko’s eight goals, which in mathematical terms is 62.5% of the team’s goals.

Clearly, there’s an over-reliance on Amoah to deliver the goods. The team is now left without a striker after their Sudanese forward, Abdoelkarem Yagoub, was alleged to have fled following their trip to the USA. The only player who can fill in that void – at this moment – is Elvis Kyei Baffour, who has a goal thus far and is not the exact out-and-out striker Kotoko are looking for but can still do a job for the team.

Prior to their game against Heart of Lions Kotoko, had scored in every game in the league but, at the moment, they are 180 minutes without a goal and four games without a win.

Albert Amoah’s 31st-minute strike against Samartex earned the Porcupines their last victory in a 1-0 tie, while their last league goal was also scored from the spot by Amoah against Legon Cities.

The issue of goalscoring is not properly addressed at the club and if they have any ambitions of mounting a league challenge, the coach should devise means of getting a way past this situation. The recent loss would hurt the more because fierce rivals Hearts of Oak have moved above Asante Kotoko in the league standings.

With three difficult games on the cards, Ogum will need to come up with a strategy soon.

 

Nations FC’s enviable home record makes them genuine title contenders

The blueprint to win the Ghana Premier League is quite straightforward: win your home games and earn as many points as you can on the road.

And it seems like no team understands it better than Nations FC. Although not flying at home this season, Nations FC make it a point not to leave home matches empty-handed.

Since the start of last season, Nations have played 22 home games, winning 12 and drawing 10. Nations are yet to be defeated at the Dr Kwame Kyei’s Sports Complex.

This season, coach Kassim Mingle looks to have discovered the secret to winning the league as his side have been the best performing away side, picking up 10 points, which is two shy of what they accumulated throughout last season.

Nations 12 points is the most of any team in the league and with their strong home statistics, Nations look like they will give league leaders Bibiaani Gold Stars a run for their money.

Nations have so far been the most consistent challengers to Gold Stars, keeping close tabs with them, ensuring they do not blow the rest of the league out of their sights.

As it stands, a point separates Nations who are in second place from League leaders Gold Stars, and Kassim Mingle will be wary his side does not capitulate as they did last season when they ran out of steam in the second half of the season while pursuing eventual league winners Samartex.

 

Title ambitions weigh heavy on Bibiani GoldStars

After beating Hearts of Oak and putting the rest of the league on notice about the legitimacy of their title aspirations, the weight of leading the pack seems to be catching up with Bibiani GoldStars.

Since that victory on Matchday eight against the Phobians, Bibiani Gold Stars are winless and scoreless in the league.

In their last game before this weekend’s round of fixtures, the team was unable to get past struggling Dreams FC who were reduced to 10 men.

The result, especially with Dreams having a man sent off early in the game, left many fans questioning GoldStars’ mentality. And, against newly promoted Young Apostles, Gold Stars were once again unable to seal maximum points. Dropping points in circumstances where you should be garnering them could come back to bite you.

Coach Frimpong Maanso will need to shake things up as his team looks to have bought into the idea of being the pace setters and the team to beat, leading to a drop-off in performance.

Irrespective of this, Bibiani GoldStars remain a hard nut to crack, winning five games and drawing five.

The post Five talking points from 2024/25 Ghana Premier League matchday 10  first appeared on 3News.

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