Despite dropping points, Aduana Stars remain top of the table, while Kotoko dropped to third, with Hearts of Oak moving to second after winning a five-goal thriller in Cape Coast. Meanwhile, Kotoku Royals won for the first time since matchday one.
Here are five key takeaways from the weekend’s games.
KOTOKU ROYALS END EMBARRASSING RUN
Kotoku Royals earned a much-needed victory on Friday, coming from behind to defeat Berekum Chelsea 2-1. Edward Mensah cancelled Quatarra Kalo’s goal before Richard Dzikoe scored his second league goal of the season to ensure Kotoku Royals took all three points.
The new boys had toiled for victory after starting their campaign on a high note. They defeated the Accra Lions in their first game, but had to try ten times more to win another. Kotoku can look forward to their next assignments while taking solace in the relegation zone of other inconsistent newly promoted sides such as Tamale City and Samartex.
ADUANA STARS STILL TOP
Gold Stars’ tenacity paid off as they held league leaders Aduana Stars at Duns Park on Monday afternoon. While Aduana sought to extend their table lead to four points, Gold Stars clung to their unbeaten record against the Ogya boys.
Last season, Aduana lost both legs to Gold Stars, and the Bibiani side was not ready to give them another chance. Meanwhile, Gold Stars have dropped to fifth place after Accra Lions defeated Legon Cities.
Aduana Stars lead the league by two points, which is good news for both Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko.
LUCKY KOTOKO MISS OUT ON TOP SPOT
Kotoko blew an excellent opportunity to go top of the league before Aduana Stars’ draw. They would have remained in first place if they had defeated Great Olympics at home, but they fluffed their lines and were lucky to even get the point.
Andrews Appau scored in the 98th minute to earn the Porcupine Warriors a 1-1 draw after Great Olympics had scored early in the second half.
It was Kotoko’s second consecutive game without a win, and as a result, they have dropped to third place on the table. They will try to beat Tamale City on Wednesday.
HEARTS OF OAK CLIMB TO SECOND SPOT
In the absence of coach Slavko Matic, who has returned to his native Serbia for vacation, Hearts of Oak, led by stop-gap coach David Ocloo, returned to winning ways against Tamale City at the Cape Coast Stadium.
The Phobians won 3-2 in a game in which both teams scored penalties and Tamale City led in the first half. Hearts of Oak dominated the second half, scoring twice through Benjamin York and Caleb Amankwah to secure the win.
The victory lifted Hearts of Oak to within two points of league leaders Aduana Stars. They will be hoping to climb to the top in the coming days as they face King Faisal on Thursday in Kumasi.
MEDEAMA THRAHSED IN DAWU
They will try and correct the wrongs in their next encounter against Nsoatreman who also returned to winning ways after three losses in a row.
Just as it appeared that Medeama were getting back on their feet after the dismissal of David Duncan, they were humiliated by Dreams FC in Dawu. The Yellow and Mauves were thrashed 4-0.
Medeama had struggled at the start of the season before bouncing back to win some points, but losing 4-0 to a not-so-great Dreams FC team suggests that there is still work to be done for the Tarkwa-based side.
They were considered one of the favourites entering the season, but they are far from their best and will need a significant improvement to even consider a top-four finish based on how they have played thus far.
