Adepa to sink Wa All Stars
The head coach of Techiman Eleven Wonders, Enos Kwame Adepa, says he will not underestimate the strength of his former club, Wa All Stars, when the two sides come face to face in their last Zylofon Cash Premier League first round clash at the Wa Stadium on Sunday.
Coach Adepa has managed to breathe some freshness into the set-up of the once-struggling Techiman club just two weeks after he appended his signature to lead them through the season.
Last weekend, he guided his charges to defeat Techiman City 3-1 in the MTN FA Cup Round of 64 match and also recorded a 2-0 victory over regional rivals, Berekum Chelsea, in their penultimate league encounter at the Ohene Ameyaw Park last Wednesday.
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However, speaking to the Graphic Sports yesterday, the CAF Licence B holder said despite the sudden revival of his side, it would be an error on his part to underrate Wa All Stars ahead of Sunday’s game despite their opponents’ abysmal showing this season.
According to him, he anticipates a tougher game on Sunday, tagging matches against struggling teams as the ‘most difficult and dangerous’ since those teams could easily restrategise and plot the fall of successful opponents.
“Although I have coached Wa All Stars before and I even won the league title with them, I will not write them off due to their current form because struggling teams are sometimes the most difficult and dangerous sides to play so you need to be extra careful.
“Also, considering the circumstances under which I left the club, the management and the technical team can motivate the players to change their tactics and improve suddenly to overpower us, especially at their home grounds,” he told the Graphic Sports.
Touching on what had worked for his side so far, Coach Adepa said: “I managed to win the hearts of my players by working with management to ensure that they are highly motivated to enable them to give of their best.”
“The job on the field is just 30 per cent but the main job is helping the players meet their psychological and welfare needs off the pitch,” he stated.
Indeed, the odds favour Eleven Wonders more than Wa All Stars in Sunday’s game as Coach Adepa has helped Eleven Wonders to climb to the ninth position with 17 points, while Wa All Stars are still languishing at the bottom of the league table with just seven points from 14 games.
Other interesting fixtures to climax the first round are the Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Aduana Stars thriller at the Baba Yara Stadium and Accra Hearts of Oak versus leaders Medeama at the Cape Coast Stadium.
After drawing 1-1 with Liberty Professionals in their midweek encounter last Wednesday, Coach Paa Kwesi Fabin and his charges will seek to ambush the Dormaa-based club at their favourite Baba Yara Stadium.
Having just introduced some new young and untested players to replace the jettisoned old guards, Coach Fabin will hope for a positive result at home against the defending champions in order to end the first round in a respectable position.
After their 1-0 loss to Inter Allies yesterday, Hearts of Oak will be desperate for a win against bogey side Medeama to move up the ladder but Medeama, who have been a revelation this season, will surely be a mouthful for the Phobians in their own backyard.
Sensational Karela United will wait patiently at the CAM Park at Nzema-Anyinase where they are favourites to beat Kenichi Yatsuhashi’s Inter Allies, who have a poor away record of six losses in seven games.
In other matches, Dreams FC will host Ebusua Dwarfs at the Dawu Stadium, Elmina Sharks welcome Liberty Professionals to the Nduom Stadium, Berekum Chelsea play Ashantigold at the Golden City Park in Sunyani, while Bechem United face WAFA at the Nana Gyeabour I Park at Bechem.