The Dormaa-based club was guilty of squandering clear cut opportunities to equalize after Mahmoud Ali had given Al-Tahaddy an early lead, and eventually succumbed to defeat in far away Egypt.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Coach Abubakar, rued the missed chances and believes his outfit could have earned something out of the game had his forwards been clinical.

“It was a good match as we all saw. We didn’t intend to come with defensive mentality, we only wanted to defend and attack at the same time. We intended that when we lose the ball, we defend when we retrieve possession, we also attack because we want to make sure that they didn’t do certain things that we know about them,” he said.

“So it was a good performance, they’ve done well, they took their chance, and I can say that was the only chance they had but I can say that we had a lot of chances to equalize, but lack of communication at the striking department let us down, but that didn’t mean we had it easy, they also did their best.”

Aduana will host the return leg at the Nana Agyemang Badu II Park in a fortnight time.

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By: Daniel Koranteng/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Our finishing let us down- Yusif Abubakar appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Aduana defeated Brong Ahafo Regional rivals Berekum Chelsea in a special coronation match at the Nana Agyemang Badu 11 Park in Dormaa on Sunday.

GFA Vice President George Afriyie led officials, including PLB Chairman Ashford Tettey-Oku to present the winners medals and the glittering premier league trophy to players and officials of the champions respectively.

Aduana were also presented with a cheque for $30,000 US Dollars, being prize money for winning the 2016/2017 Ghana Premier.

The atmosphere inside the stadium was joyous throughout the day, with traditional rulers in the Dormaa Traditional Area present, including the Omanhene, Nana Agyemang Badu 11.

After receiving the trophy, the players of Aduana symbolically presented the trophy to Nana Agyemang Badu 11, who is also the the Life Patron of the club.

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Source: Ghanafa.org

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All hail Aduana, new kings of Ghanaian football

When Aduana Stars started assembling very good pieces from last season, the talk was that they were getting ready to win the Ghana Premier League.

Noah Martey was purchased from Bechem United while Zakaria Mumuni joined from WAFA. The likes of Derrick Sasraku and Godfred Saka were maintained together with Daniel Darkwah and that meant that you had a solid base and a good mix of new players; the right mix for a Premier League challenge and they duly delivered.

They went unbeaten until Week 8 and maybe that was why their coach Yusif Abubakar said that he knew they would win the title.

The performance, in my opinion, which underlined their seriousness was the 3-3 draw with Hearts of Oak in Accra. The refereeing on the day from Prince Amoah was very dodgy but Aduana took the lead three times in that game and they played without any fear.

A closer look at the statistics reveals just how well they set themselves up for the title.

They lost none of their home matches and they have lost only four of their 14 away matches played so far (the 15th is at AshGold on final day). Their away record produced only 18 out of 45 points but those points were a very healthy buffer for the 12 home games they won.

Clearly, they knew their way round the league and they worked for their title.

WAFA could have made it tougher but a lack of ambition, at least in my mind, shown by their head coach Klavs Rasmussen took the league away from them.

With Bolga All Stars already relegated, the fight for survival has become more important for the 8 teams lying between 8th and 15th place.

They are separated by just 3 points and any failures on final day could sink any two of them. Things just got hotter!!!

Jose Smart or Jose Scared at Anfield?

By 1:30 pm on Saturday October 14, the debate surrounding the match between Liverpool and Manchester United had been broken into two very distinct camps.

One camp said that Joe Mourinho should have gone for the victory against the old enemy. The Liverpool defence had been poor and they did not have Sadio Mane and thus, staying compact was not ambitious enough.

The other camp believed that the point was good for a season of 38 matches. They stated that the battle was long and arduous and so, a point gained at a team that knows how to play the big games and will slaughter your team if you attempt exchanging blows with it is important.

Both camps hold very valid stances but I go with the second group. Liverpool love this match and they were primed to deliver the death blow had Man United tried to go gung-ho at them.

Of course, Man United could have attempted to build more as the game wore on and they could have been rewarded but Liverpool did not also let themselves go completely. They always had their midfield in place because for once, they recognised their shortcomings and they did not also want to risk getting sucker-punched.

Is that also not self-preservation? Man United have rarely dominated Liverpool at Anfield. They have played on the counter and they have saved themselves from defeat so many times.

Only 15 goals were scored in Sir Alex Ferguson’s last 16 trips to Liverpool. Jose Mourinho is not the first Man United to think about not losing. A point gained will be handy later.

The Federer Express delivered in Shanghai

It has been a great year for both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Like phoenixes, the two men have risen from injury to go past every one and their latest meeting in the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Sunday stressed the great form they were both in.

But the match and the year’s subscription of gloating belonged to Roger Federer.

I saw him win the Australian Open early this year and I wondered if he could keep going. He has done so and Sunday’s showing was even more dominant. He won 6-4, 6-3 and recorded ten aces while doing so.

Federer, in his older years, has played with a lot of calmness and focus. He does not overfuss in his decision-making and the shot selection is even more exquisite.

No one knows if he will win a lot of major titles in coming years because Novak Djokovic will return and Nadal seems to have the aggression and determination to want to keep going.

But Federer, on Sunday, reminded all of us that with proper planning and great choices in terms of tournament, he could win a few more before calling it a day.

Notable mention to Mauro Icardi.

I am not a huge fan of Inter Milan’s Argentine captain but overlooking his performance in the Milan Derby on Sunday will be very wrong.

He gave a very good shift and like all great strikers, he got his goal. Infact, he got three; my favourite being his improvised sliced volley from Ivan Perisic (who I think Man United should have signed) to make the score 2-1.

Great workout ahead of Inter’s clash with Napoli next weekend. I am not missing that one.

That’s it for this week, folks.

Hit me up on Twitter @nathan_quao

The post QUAO’s Monday Moanings: GH Footy kings, Jose smart or scared, Federer show in Shanghai appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Reaching this milestone will force a smile out of legendary Ghanaian coach Herbert Addo even in his grave, the newly promoted Dormaa based team that he led to a league title at the first time of asking had managed to repeat the dose seven years down the line.

Aduana Stars set themselves the task of building a team composed of the most highly rated players and potential stars on the local scene and placed Yusif Abubakar at the helm of affairs.

The central midfield partnership of Elvis Opoku and Noah Martey whipped up chemistry and magic to dazzle many an opponent on just about every matchday.

The trio of Derek Sasraku,Nathaniel Asamoah and Sam Adams all managed or exceeded the goal mark of five,making Aduana the only team to achieve this feat.

They had a business like attitude about them from matchday one and played every game with a chip on their shoulder,a characteristic perhaps instilled by their narrow miss of glory the previous season when they lost the penultimate game of the season to Wa All Stars.

They defined the phrase “numbers don’t lie with their season as they led the way in goals for all teams with 43 while conceding 21 with just 2 coming at the Nana Agyemang Badu Park.

Now that the championship trophy is safely tucked away in the cabinet the attention turns to the CAF Champions League which they are eligible for by virtue of their status as Champions.

Their first attempt seven years ago ended in a first round exit and they can be pardoned because at the time they were just getting their feet wet as far as top level football was concerned.

They have matured as an organisation  and that maturity will be called upon when the continental ship is ready to set sail.

Aduana will have to take critical decisions with regards to improvement of their squad if making it to the business end of the competition is their aim.

Ghana will be watching,but for now lets pop the champagne or better still  get some fufu pounding in the background.

EPL Top Guns Choke

The biggest anti-climax of the matchweek was played out by Liverpool and Man United and honestly we should all have seen this coming,purely on the back of what has been served since Mourinho took over at United.

From the neutral’s point of view it must have made painful viewing watching one team pass the ball around diagonally while the other sat back in their own half and watched the seconds tick.

Even the purists will admit that this display was disgusting but nevertheless one side went home happy while the other have managed just one win in 8 matches in all competitions.

Arsenal continued to serve their fans a healthy dose of piss and it doesn’t seem as if that will slow down anytime soon.

To say that the performance against Watford was uninspiring is an understatement even for the regular Arsenal fan who should have become accustomed to them.

Watching the game I cannot help but admit that they deserved every bit of what they got because that Mertesacker goal really came out of nothing and the play was as drab as it gets in the modern game.

No desire,no leadership on the pitch and even the coordinated passing that Arsenal can muster even on their worse day was absent.

A win would have catapulted them into the top four but instead they fluffed it and handed that ticket to Watford.

Chelsea on the other hand are flirting with their own crisis situation as a plethora of injuries and some underwhelming displays has them reeling.

With only 8 matches played the champions have already lost three matches and conceded 8 goals.

Even more daunting is the fact that this latest defeat came at the hands of Crystal Palace,a team that had failed to score in 7 matches and were yet to record a point.

The foundations for defending their crown looks wobbly and I dare say that if they lose another match before December that dream is over.

The NBA wait is almost over

The opening day fixtures are laden with story lines where ever you look with Lebron James set to welcome former teammate now turned rival Kyrie Irving and his Celtics to the Quicken Loans Arena.

This match up enables us to observe at close quarters what sort of leadership Kyrie Irving brings to the table and whether this will be a preview to the conference finals later.

The return of Dwayne Wade to Lebron’s side and what his impact will be will also make for interesting viewing especially on the back of his chaotic season with his home town Chicago Bulls.

Speaking of the Bulls Derek Rose is another element of the Cavs roster that stirs my interest and from what I have witnessed in the scrimmages and preseason games he is getting back to that old Rose that was sure with the handle and fearless on the drive.

His impact however will be heavily dependent on his health.

The Golden State Warriors on the other hand will want to usher in their season opener with more guile and finesse than they did last year when the San Antonio Spurs came to town and run rout much to the dismay of the Oracle Arena crowd.

The Houston Rockets with their renovated back court that includes Chris Paul will be hoping that the championship banner that will be raised to the rafters by the Champions will be the last in a long time to come.

Again this match-up will provide insight into whether the Rockets have indeed become that genuine Championship threat following their off season activities.

The prospects of the Warriors getting better as a team is too scary to fathom but the frenzy the NBA world will be thrown into if the Rockets upset them at the Oracle is even more compelling.

By:Benjamin Nketsia/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @kojonketsia

The post Final Whistle: Aduana Champions, EPL powerhouses choke, NBA tip-off upon us appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

They say gunmen, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and rifles, raided two checkpoints near Mount Chaambi.

It is reportedly the heaviest death toll registered by the army since independence in 1956.

The Tunisian army has been waging a crackdown on militants operating in the mountainous region over the past year.

Islamist militants, including fighters linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb (AQIM), are believed to be hiding out in the border region.

The soldiers were attacked “by terrorist groups” on Wednesday evening as they were breaking their fast as part of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Tunisia’s Tap state news agency reports.

A group called the Okba Ben Nafaa Brigade has reportedly said it carried out the attack in a post on its Facebook page.

The office of the Tunisian presidency has declared three days of mourning starting on Thursday, Tunisian TV reports.

Eight soldiers were killed in an attack in the Mount Chaambi district in July 2013, days before the assassination of secular politician Mohamed Brahmi, which plunged the country into political turmoil.

Islamist militants have been increasingly active around the Algerian-Tunisian border since the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled long-term leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

Source: BBC

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The interior ministry said Lotfi Ben Jeddou was not at his home during the attack in the western Kasserine region.

It is unclear who was behind the attack but correspondents say Tunisia’s military have been fighting Islamist militants for several years.

The militant group Ansar al-Sharia was branded a terrorist organisation by the government last year.

“Four police officers were killed and another injured during a terrorist attack with Kalashnikov rifles that targeted the home of the interior minister,” a spokesman told the AFP news agency.

One local resident said the gunmen were wearing balaclavas and arrived on a pick-up truck.

Ansar al-Sharia emerged after the 2011 revolution and seeks the implementation of Islamic Sharia law across Tunisia.

Ansar leader Seif Allah Ibn Hussein, also known as Abu Iyadh, is currently in hiding after an arrest warrant was issued for allegedly inciting an attack on the US embassy in Tunis in September 2012, which killed four people.

Insecurity in the North African country has increased since President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was ousted in January 2011 at the start of the Arab Spring.

In February, gunmen in western Tunisia killed four people, including two police, after setting up a roadblock and shooting at cars.

Tunisia’s armed forces launched a major assault last year in the Chaambi mountains close to the border with Algeria, where Islamist militants had set up camp.

Correspondents say authorities are also concerned about the conflict in Libya, where Islamist militants control large parts of the country, spilling across the border.

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