Hearts overcome Mirren

Accra Hearts of Oak yesterday secured a vital 2-1 win against Division One side Sporting Mirren at the Accra Stadium to book their ticket to the Round of 32 of the 2016/2017 MTN FA Cup competition.

It was the best performance yet from the Rainbow boys as they scored in each half through Anthony Nimo and Patrick Razak to deny the visitors any opportunity to upstage them.

The match which was watched by the newly-appointed Black Stars coach, James Kwasi Appiah, and Maxwell Konadu, saw the Phobians dominating the exchanges, especially in the second half to attract loud cheers from their supporters.

Nimo got the opener in the 25th minute when he received a pass from his colleague Winful Cobbina in the 18-yard and dribbled his markers to put his name on the score sheet.

In the 36th minute, Mirren cancelled Hearts’ lead when Timothy Darbah chanced on the ball from the wings and laid a pass for skipper Jewel Arthur to connect home.

From recess, the Phobians came in with renewed vigour and fought hard to record the winner during a goal mouth melee. Striker Patrick Razak ghosted through the Sporting Mirren defence to get the ball into the net in the 53rd minute.

The visitors fought hard for the equaliser but defender Vincent Atinga joined forces with Richard Akrofi to frustrate their opponents.