Hearts were outclassed and easily dispatched by the Miners, in what was their first game at their adopted home ground in Cape Coast.

The Phobians looked flat and disjointed for large periods of the game and were lucky not to have conceded more goals.

Wellington has however blamed his side’s humbling defeat at the hands of the Obuasi based side on individual errors.

“The tactics were not the problem, it was mistakes. Tactically we were better than AshGold on the field,” he said.

“The hardly attacked us as we kept them at bay for most parts of the game. They scored the goals from the few attacks the made; we didn’t lose because of bad tactics.”

Hearts are now second from bottom with just a point from their opening two games.

By: Daniel Koranteng/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to the 35 year old, the bonuses stretch as far back as 2004 where he helped Hearts to win the first edition of the CAF Confederation Cup.

The player is in terrible need of money to pay the medical bills of his sick mother.

”I can’t lie against Hearts of Oak, they owe me GH¢7,000 and must pay me before my mother dies else something terrible will happen to the club,” Bortey told Kumasi based Otec FM.

”If they don’t owe such an amount, they should not pay the money and see if they can win the Ghana Premier League or survive relegation and collapse.

”No player can do that in recent times can repeat what I did for Hearts of Oak. I built on what Shamo Quaye did for the club and no one has been able to add to it.

”When I said I was bigger than Hearts of Oak, they thought I was lying. They will soon know that I’m bigger than the club and I’m not bragging.

“I’m even better than all the players currently at the club and can play better them so they should not joke with me because I’m the son of God.”

Dong Bortey spent ten years at Hearts between 2001 and 2010 and the club have not won a single trophy since his departure.

In 2004, Don Bortey was joint top scorer in the Ghanaian league with Charles Taylor. They both 18 goals as Hearts went on to win the title that season.

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By: Daniel Koranteng/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Hearts will struggle if my debts are not paid- Dong Bortey appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The announcement came from the club on Monday after meeting with Nuttal.

In the said meeting, the coach, according to a statement released by the club, accepted that he had gone against the team’s accepted norms of behaviour.

The club put out a tweet announcing the suspension on Monday.

PRESS RELEASE: HEARTS SUSPEND COACH FRANK NUTTALLhttps://t.co/KkKhRrPezv#AHOSC pic.twitter.com/hiCRvaMDPQ

— Accra Hearts of Oak (@HeartsOfOakGH) February 12, 2018

The club has put together a three-member committee to investigate these breaches and produce a report by Friday, February 16, 2018.

Members of the Committee are Dr. Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe, Frank Nelson and, Ivy Heward-Mills.

Despite the court injunction on the start of the new Ghana Premier League season, the club is still training and getting ready and assistant head coach, Henry Wellington, has been asked to oversee preparations.

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By: Citi Sports

The post Hearts of Oak suspend Frank Nuttal appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The renovation works which began on Wednesday are expected to last for six months and will be completed in September, two months before the commencement of the Women’s AFCON which begins in November.

Both Accra Hearts of Oak and Inter Allies have been cleared by the National Sports Authority to host their home fixtures for the upcoming Premier League season at the Accra Stadium.

Asked if he would recommend the use of the stadium during the renovation works, Gyebi said: “I will not recommend that at all, it shouldn’t be used for any activity.

The structural integrity of the facility should not be compromised by extra activity during the works. We cannot open the place to everyone.”

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By: Daniel Koranteng/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Accra Sports Stadium renovation: Project Manager wants Hearts to relocate appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Porcupine Ruthlessness 

At very irregular moments, cup finals leave you asking “how did that happen?” because those ones tend to follow the strangest of scripts.

Sunday’s MTN FA Cup final between Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak was one of the ‘strange’ ones. I say strange because Hearts were expected to come into the match with a lot of confidence and give off a great performance. That, of course, was not going to guarantee victory but it was to follow the form guide.

But did not happen. It was Kotoko who looked like they had prepared for the match. It seemed all their travails of the season set them up for this one match against the old enemy.

They attacked from the first second and after 81, Saddick Adams reminded all of us of his quality. He steadied himself to finish well after a move from the left wing.

Then, he scored a penalty after 30 minutes. His third for me, was the final part of full performance. All good strikers take a gamble and go for what may be a non-existent chance.

He did that and pounced on Vincent Atingah’s rather lame header towards his goalie, Ben Mensah. Adams went round the goalkeeper and scored his hat-trick; the first for a Kotoko player against Hearts in a first half since Opoku Nti did that back in 1983.

The game was up for Hearts at that point.

I wonder how Hearts of Oak will recover from the loss. The players were too slow and did not see what was happening.

Could it also be that their coach Frank Nuttal got his selection wrong? Atingah and Richard Akrofi in central defence could not work together.

Malik Akowuah was more interested in hacking players down than doing some good break-up play in midfield. The Phobians looked strangled all game and their second half push was woefully inadequate.

The pain of the defeat will have to stay with them and remind of faring better when they get the next opportunity.

For Kotoko, the joy of victory should also remind them of what they can achieve if they work hard. Next time, it could be them facing the barrel of the long gun of a loss.

Big boys get their way in Premier League

The Premier League’s top teams had to kick on from their work in the previous week and for some, the need for a win was so great and of course, all the action was live on Citi 97.3 FM.

The team that needed to get something positive was Manchester United against Tottenham and they did. I was at a wedding on Saturday so, it was pure torture as I had to keep refreshing my Twitter handle for updates from the Citi FM account and all my football apps for the latest.

May the Lord forgive me but it had to be done.

Later, when I watched the highlights, I noticed that the Red Devils had better tempo and more aggression but Spurs settled and showed their hand.

However, Man United went for the kill and a good change by Jose Mourinho brought Anthony Martial on for Marcus Rashford and the French forward struck the winner in the 81st minute.

Ander Herrera was good at running around to keep tabs on Spurs’ midfield because that was the only way to stop them from thinking well and creating openings for Son Heung-Min and Dele Alli who had to find the goals in the absence of Harry Kane.

I did not expect Mourinho to sit back for this one. He was at home and he had to show Spurs that winning was equally important to him.

But Spurs did look fairly blunt without Kane and there is no hiding it. If Llorente will be their second option, then they need to start working on how use him else they will struggle.

Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea all got their victories and even though, the scorelines show straight forward story lines, the matches themselves were tougher. However, big teams respond to challenges and conquer them.

Arsenal had to fight back from a goal down, Liverpool missed a penalty while Chelsea had to withstand Bournemouth’s industry.

But how did Michail Antonio not use years of playing in the league to run down the clock for West Ham to beat Crystal Palace? He must have felt sick at the sight of Wilfried Zaha scoring an equaliser in the 96th minute.

For once, Slaven Bilic can say that his players (or Antonio) let him down badly.

That is the Premier League for you. Things change in seconds. A missed chance will be punished. A lack of toughness will be used against you. A sense of uncertainty will leave you lost and under pressure.

Chelsea and Man United will face off in the next round and if that does not excite you, nothing else will.

Citi Sports will be at the AM & PM Sports Bar for an outdoor event so join us there.

Young English Kings 

Whoever thought that a day would come and we would all say that England won a football title? That day is here. England are kings of both world U-17 and U-20 football.

They added the U-17 title on Saturday in India after recovering from 2 goals to beat Spain 5-2 and they looked great value for their success.

They were positive, confident and technically as able as Spain, Brazil, France and Germany. They did not look like your average English side but then, it only shows that they are now really serious about fixing their football and placing themselves in a good place in terms of world football.

Jadon Sancho, Phil Foden, Rhian Brewster and Calum Hodson-Odoi are the embodiment of the good work done by the English FA on the technical side. But coming back from two goals down in a final also points to the mental toughness of the group.

Brewster, who was the tournament’s top scorer with 8 goals, said that his country’s football was “evolving”. I do believe that.

Maybe this is the cue we need to change things in Ghana.

Notable mentions to the Golden State Warriors and it is because of the 26 turnovers they committed against the Detroit Pistons leading to a home loss. Nice punishment. Coach Steve Kerr needs to get such nonsense out of the team. It is becoming annoying waking up at dawn and seeing such numbers.

Lewis Hamilton gets a mention too for capturing his fourth title. He fought hard to dislodge Sebastien Vettel and over the course of the season, he showed experience and alertness to see the chances and take them as the races came along.

Former Kotoko and Hearts goalie Soulama Abdoulaye also deserved a mention and even more. He passed on last Friday in Burkina Faso and he left us with good memories.

He was a main stay of the Kotoko for about seven years and I do not remember when he did not give his all. He led from his between the sticks and he was loved and admired.

He gave Hearts of Oak a few good seasons too and it was very pleasant seeing him play for his country.

May he rest in peace.

That’s it folks.

Catch you nest week. Hit me up on Twitter @nathan_quao

The post QUAO’s Monday Moanings: Fabulous Kotoko, EPL big boys and Young English Kings appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The former Berekum Chelsea attacker scored inside 90 seconds to give the Porcupine Warriors the opener and added two more goals on the half-hour mark and on the stroke of half-time to give Kotoko a 3-0 lead going into the break.

Hearts Captain Thomas Abbey scored in the second half for an improved Hearts of Oak side but it only counted for consolation as Kotoko wrapped up an impressive victory over their rivals.

Kotoko started the brighter of the two sides and it took only 90 seconds for them to take the lead. Careless play from the Hearts of Oak midfield area allowed Kwame Boahen to intercept and set up Sadick Adams in the Hearts of Oak Penalty area, who exhibited impeccable composure to fire past the helpless Ben Mensah in the Hearts of Oak goal.

The goal inspired Kotoko, who immediately went on the attack again with the marauding Augustine Sefa setting up Kwame Boahen in the far post who fired an angled effort at Ben Mensah to parry it for a corner which he then spilled over before the Hearts defense eventually cleared.

Kotoko continued to put pressure on a nervous Hearts of Oak defense and Sadick Adams fired a freekick straight at Ben Mensah, moments after Felix Annan made an easy safe off Fatau Mohammed.

It was all Kotoko in the first 15 minutes with both Kwame Boahen and Obed Owusu firing straight at Ben Mensah who had been Hearts of Oak most outstanding player up to that point.

After moments of sparse opportunities for either side, the referee called for a water break, giving Frank Nutall an opportunity to alter some tactics.

Right after the break, Hearts of Oak tested Felix Annan for the first time, but the diminutive shot-stopper dove to push Cobbinah’s effort just wide. From the corner, Kotoko quickly turned defense into attack with Emmanuel Gyamfi sprinting past Malik Akowuah on the halfway line.

The former Medeama Man, who had been booked for an earlier silly challenge, dragged Gyamfi back in the attempt to stop him. It was a bookable offense but referee Latif Adaari chose to keep his card in his pocket. Hearts fans breathed a sigh of relief but Kotoko fans were livid.

But from the Freekick, Kotoko won the penalty; off another moment of madness from Hearts of Oak’s defense. This time, Richard Akrofi dragged back Sadick Adams as he readied to take a shot in the area. The former Berekum Chelsea man stepped and converted it to make it 2-0.

Hearts of Oak’s day went from bad to worse on the stroke of halftime. Vincent Atinga attempted to head a back pass to his goalkeeper but the header was weak and Sadick run through to pick the loose ball, rounded Ben Mensah and finishes off for his hattrick.

Hearts of Oak started the second half with more intensity and created chances but Kotoko remained resolute. Patrick Razak and Kizito with feeble efforts cleared by the Kotoko defence.

Nutall poured more men forward, hooking the poor Akowuah for striker Cosmos Dauda as he went in search of a way back into the match.

Ray of light for Hearts

On 60 minutes, Hearts of Oak’s incessant pressure paid off as Thomas Abbey scored to reduce the deficit, connecting Fatawu Mohammed’s cross with a dangling header past Felix Annan to make it 1-3.

Hearts of Oak finally had something to build on and Kizito fired wide moments later before Cobbinah hit a freekick straight at the wall from a good position.

From then on, it was all about game management for Asante Kotoko, who intermittently stopped play just to interrupt the flow of the game. But within the moments of confusion and the threats of spilling over, Sadick Adams still had a chance to score a fourth, but his effort was well wide.

As the sun gave way for the floodlights at the Tamale Sports Stadium, referee Latif Adaari’s whistle brought an end to the Phobian misery as Kotoko lift their 9^th FA Cup crown.

They picked up the Ghc50,000 prize money and a place at this year’s CAF Confederation Cup Competition.

Additionally, Kotoko will receive Ghc 150,000 as support money for their participation in the CAF Confederation Cup competition.

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By: Fentuo Tahiru/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Sadick Adams’ hattrick sinks Hearts, gives Kotoko 9th FA Cup appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Hearts of Oak finished 3rd in this season’s Ghana Premier League; 2 places above Kotoko who finished 5th.

Bekoe said while Kotoko and Hearts of Oak matches are largely unpredictable, the Phobians will go into the tie the stronger of the two sides.

“Hearts of Oak has picked up since the start of the second round. Looking at their form guide, I think they’re on top [compared to Kotoko]. So looking at it from a spectator’s point of view, Hearts are favorites,” he said.

The 2008 Ghana Premier League top scorer was however quick to add that top form can count for nothing in games involving the two traditional rivals.

“But when it comes to this match, it’s not about your form; anything can happen,” he added.

Kotoko and Hearts of Oak are meeting in the FA Cup final for the first time since 1990, when the Porcupine Warriors emerged victorious via a 4-2 scoreline but were later stripped off the title for fielding an unqualified player.

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By: Fentuo Tahiru/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post FA Cup Final: ‘Hearts of Oak are favourites’ – Eric Bekoe appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

In Accra, Hearts of Oak climbed to 3rd with a 3-1 win over Tema Youth.

The Phobians showed their hand very early in the game and their play was rewarded with a penalty in the 29th minute which was converted by captain Thomas Abbey.

Kwame Kizito added a second and Abbey complete his brace with a curling effort late in the game.

Tema Youth’s Joseph Paintsil got the consolation for his team in the 87th minute via a penalty.

Ernest Papa Arko’s experience in scoring goals proved to be the difference for Liberty Professionals as they beat AshGold 1-0 in Dansoman.

Elmina Sharks‘ determination to stay in the league was evident as they beat Bechem United 2-1 at the Ndoum Stadium. Felix Addo got the goals for Sharks while Sadick Hadji Abubakar scored for Bechem United.

Ebusua Dwarfs could not go past Wa All Stars in Cape Coast in what was the round’s most exciting match. Joseph Bentil and Isaac Kwain put Dwarfs in the lead but Kweku B. Asuandzi and Paul Asare scored for Wa All Stars to earn a point on the road.

Berekum Chelsea‘s search for an away win since 2015 came to an end after they thumped Bolga All Stars 4-0. Evans Obeng scored twice while Stephen Sarfo  and Abedi Karim completed the rout on the Premier League debutants.

Great Olympics experienced joy on the road after a Benjamin Arthur goal gave them a 1-0 win at the El-Wak Stadium against Inter Allies.

Aduana Stars sit at the top of the league table on 44 points but they have two more matches than WAFA who are on 43 points.

Hearts move up to the 3rd on 39 points with Medeama in 4th place. Kotoko are 5th with two matches in hand.

AshantiGold’d recent wobbles have dragged them back into the relegation zone. They are 14th on 28 points.

Olympics and Bolga All Stars are 15th and 16th respectively.

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By: Citi Sports Desk

The post GHPL Week 24: Hearts, Sharks win as Chelsea pound Bolga All Stars appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Phobians were very eager to right the wrongs of the loss to WAFA and they started well. They were rewarded in the 24th minute through Kwame Kizito. After 43 minutes, Vincent Atinga scored a penalty to double the lead.

Kizito and Atinga struck against in the second half in the 47th and 51st minutes respectively.

Inter Allies were 2-0 winners over Elmina Sharks at the El-Wak Stadium thanks to goals from Hasmin Musah and Abdul Nassiru.

AshGold’s recent good form continued with a 1-0 at the T and A Park against Medeama. Richard Ocran scored a penalty in the 42nd minute.

Wa All Stars beat Berekum Chelsea 3-0 at the Wa Park. David Abagna scored twice with the third coming from Seth Amoateng.

Cape Coast Dwarfs were 1-0 winners over Bechem United while Liberty Professionals and WAFA drew goalless.

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By: Citi Sports Desk

The post GHPL Week 18: Hearts thump Bolga, AshGold pip Medeama on the road appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Hearts needed an equaliser from Winnful Cobbinah to give them a point after Joseph Mensah had put Sharks in the lead.

The result gave Hearts 19 points and 3rd place; 7 points behind WAFA.

After the match, Nuttal told reporters that Sharks disrupted the rhythm of the match with their choice of gameplan.

“We worked very hard throughout the game and it is unfortunate not to pick up all the three points. But it is difficult when the opposition does not come to play football. I thought I was going to experience a football but what I saw was not good at all. If the Ghanaian league will get better, it needs more teams like us who are willing to play football and will not waste time. We will not fall over all the time as if we have an ankle injury.”

Hearts will face Bolga All Stars, WAFA and Liberty Professionals before the first round of the league ends.

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By: Nathan Quao/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Nuttal unhappy with Sharks’ tactics in 1-1 draw appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.