Wa All Stars are uncrowned champs... Condemn unruly behaviour of fans
A controversial penalty awarded by Referee Ali Alhassan of Tamale in the 79th minute enabled Wa All Stars to beat Aduana F/C 2-1 in their tension-packed Premier League decider at the Wa Sports Stadium yesterday.
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The penalty came after a corner-kick, expertly taken by Maxwell Baakoh of Wa All Stars, led to a goal-mouth melee during which Aduana’s Kweku Baffoe fell and Matthew Andoh of Wa All Stars who tried to jump over Baffoe for the ball also fell in the box. But referee Alhassan thought Andoh was pushed down by an Aduana defender and whistled for a spot kick.
This resulted in an eight-minute stand-off as the Aduana players protested vehemently against the decision. When calm was restored, All Stars’ Sadiq Alhassan scored from the spot for the winning goal.
But Referee Alhassan could not be spared as the coach and a section of the officials of Aduana, feeling incensed, rushed on him after the match but he was saved by the timely intervention of a combined team of security personnel around the dressing room.
It was Referee Alhassan’s second penalty award to the homesters, who had earlier in the 18th minute wasted the first penalty when Maxwell Baakoh, who had a great day, was pushed down but the resultant kick was brilliantly saved by Addo.
The thrilling match saw the homesters open the scoring in the fifth minute through Paul Asare, whose terrific shot at the edge of the penalty box beat Aduana’s goalie, Joseph Addo.
Upset by the goal, Aduana put up a spirited performance and equalised after three minutes through Bright Adjei, who cheekily shot the ball to the blind side of goalie Richard Ofori.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Wa All Stars Football Club, Oduro Nyarko, yesterday condemned a reported attack on the CEO of Aduana Stars, Albert Commey, and other officials and some players of the club by some fans of All Stars after the match.
He said the unruly behaviour of fans of the club was unfortunate since, according to him, “Aduana and All Stars have had very cordial relations anytime the two sides met, both in Wa and Dormaa” and apologised for the behaviour of the fans, saying it was unsporting.