Hearts of Oak and Medeama recorded victories to pile up the pressure on Aduana Stars who have begun life at the Dr Kwame Kyei Sports Complex following the ban on their home ban. While Chelsea shocked Asante Kotoko, King Faisal continued living in good ways.
Here are five talking points from the Ghana Premier League matchday 26
ADUANA BEGIN LIFE AWAY FROM HOME
League leaders Aduana Stars began serving their ban as they hosted Great Olympics at the Dr Kwame Kyei Sports Complex. The men had made the Nana Agyemang Badu I Part a fortress being the only team to remain undefeated at home but they have to accept a new venue due to a ban placed on them following reported attacks on their opponent’s team a couple of weeks ago. However, as it stands, The Ogya boys may not be perturbed as they began on a good note with a narrow win over Oly Dade to maintain the top spot.
RELEGATION BATTLE TIGHTER THAN TITLE RUN
Aduana kept their lead under control once more with an important victory over Great Olympics. Hearts and Medeama may have bounced back to winning but the likes of Kotoko, Lions, Bechem, and Bibiani all lost making their title chase more difficult. Even though they can’t be ruled out yet, Aduana may relax a bit more and still own the advantage.
However, there are four teams who are all tied on the same points as the 17th placed Great Olympics with 31 points. This means except for Kotoku Royals who are ten points behind these teams, any of these teams below 11th place could be in the danger zone after one bad result.
MEDEAMA ON COURSE
Medeama moved to second after a crucial derby win over Karela United. The Yellow and Mauves have significantly stepped up to give Aduana a challenge after struggling from the beginning of the season. Medeama unluckily missed out in 2018 when the league got truncated to undergo normalisation but could go all the way for the prize this time round. They are just three points behind Aduana and would hope Kotoko stop the leaders in the next game to pave the way.
KING FAISAL ESCAPING WITH DETERMINATION
King Faisal seem to leave no stone unturned in pursuit of their escape from relegation. The Insha Allah boys have displayed sheer determination to ensure their season is well salvaged. The team had recorded two decent results under Godwin Ablordey who took charge on a temporal basis after the dismissal of Jimmy Cobblah. However, the presence of Ignatius Osei-Fosu looks to have increased their fighting urge which has increased their chance of safety. Holding Kotoko to a scoreless draw with ten men, beating Aduana to the FA semifinals, and coming from behind to beat Dreams FC are certainly acknowledgeable feats.
CHELSEA FINALLY FIND JOY AT HOME AGAINST KOTOKO
Berekum Chelsea ended a seven-year winless home run against Kotoko at Golden City Park with a 3-0 victory on Friday. The last time Kotoko got beaten at Golden City Park was in March 2016 when Saddick Adams scored a brace to power Chelsea to a 2-0 victory. Since then all four matches between these two teams at the venue have ended in stalemates but Chelsea changed the story finally thanks to three second-half goals from the 2010/2011 champions.
Following the result, Kotoko are now eight points behind Aduana Stars and eight points above the relegation zone.
