Both Accra Great Olympics and Asante Kotoko will need more than luck and a miracle as they desperately seek to save their dwindling fortunes in this season’s Ghana Premier League (GPL).
While Kotoko have lost their top four position having started with a second-place, Olympics are neck-deep in the relegation net and unless they are able to turn things around, they could have a disappointing season.
As fate will have it, they meet each other in their desperate moment, in a match which is a must-win for both of them if they are to give hope to their fans as the GPL honours its last but one game to end the first round.
Coincidentally, both sides who meet at the Accra Stadium tomorrow, have changed their coaches but it has not brought in the expected results yet. Nonetheless they will be hoping for a change when the Match Day 14 games are honoured.
Then lying second on the log, Kotoko felt it was not good enough after the string of draws and decided to change their technical head, dispatching their Croatian coach, Zdrako Logarusic, for his assistant, Godwin Ablordey and Frimpoing Manso. That change too, has not yielded any different result as Kotoko are still winless in their last six games.
Olympics, like Kotoko, have also had their share of confusion, beginning with the shuffle in the technical team which eventually led to the introduction of new coach, Tom Strand.
With the two sides still haunted by their inability to win and the seeming coaching headache, Kotoko face a very daunting task as they revisit the Accra Stadium in just a week against Great Olympics tomorrow.
Coach Frimpong Manso who was impressed with his team’s performance despite their 1-3 loss to rivals Hearts of Oak, is expected to keep faith with almost the same men by starting goalkeeper Felix Annan, Edwin Tuffuour Frimpong, Awal Mohammed, Ahmed Adams, Eric Donkor, Atta Kusi, Frank Sarfo Gyamfi and Obed Owusu to rekindle the fabulous spirit by winning against Olympics on Saturday.
Accra Hearts of Oak will on Monday hope to sustain their newly found character which propelled them to victory over Kumasi Asante Kotoko in the “Ghana 60 Years On” Presidential Cup, when they welcome Ghana Premier League (GPL) leaders, WAFA, to the Accra stadium in what could be a very cagey fixture.
The match which was origionally to be honoured on Sunday, had to be rescheduled to Monday, to allow for the continuation of the ongoing African Rugby Challenge which is being played at the stadium on Sunday.
Hearts’ emphatic 3-1 win over Kotoko seems to have sent a strong signal to other clubs, particularly those who will be visiting the Accra Stadium, that the Phobians are gaining their home invincibility so they should not expect their hosts to be kind and generous when they visit.
However, considering WAFA’s current form which has seen them conquer the likes of Chelsea, Wa All Stars, Bechem United, Ashgold, Elmina Sharks, Bolga All Stars and lately Liberty Professionals, in their last seven games, Hearts’ coach, Frank Nuttall, who was away in Scotland during the May Day engagement, must join forces with his assistant, Henry Wellington, to parade a very solid side and a winning team to call the bluff of the academy boys.
Last season, the meeting between the two sides saw WAFA claiming a point from the Phobians in what many described as old-fashioned tactics from the Sogakope lads.
This season, their style of play and tactics seem more appealing and attractive, and look set to give Hearts a good run for their money as they both push for the points that will help them move up to third place in the case of Hearts, or further firmly place their grip at the top, in the case of Dane Klavs Ramsussen’s charges.
From all indications, WAFA are on fire this season but coming to face Hearts on the heels of their spectacular performance against Kotoko last Monday, a different story could be told after the 90 minutes of play.
