Category: Sports

Supporters of Kumasi Asante Kotoko were able to afford a smile for the first time in eight matches after beating Samartex 1996 by a goal to nil at the Baba Yara Stadium on Sunday in a match week 27 encounter of the Ghana Premier League.

The last time the Porcupines tasted victory was on March 1 when they defeated Bibiani Gold Stars at the same venue.

Since that match, they had managed to pick only a point from a possible 21, leaving their fans in excruciating pains as they watched their darling club sink down the table week after week.

Even more disheartening was the fact that they lost three consecutive matches at their favourite Baba Yara Stadium right in front of their fans.

Perhaps taking inspiration from their Life Patron who called for an emergency meeting days before the match, the ‘fabulous boys’ demonstrated commitment to overturn the poor results throughout the match.

They made their attacking intent known right from the blast of the whistle as they stormed the half of their guests in search of
an early goal.

As they surged forward in their quest to end their winless run in the second round of the league, Enoch Morrison hit the woodwork with only four minutes into the game.

The visitors responded almost immediately at the other end of the pitch when Evans Osei Owusu forced a brilliant save from Frederick Asare.

Determined to bounce back after three consecutive losses at home, the Porcupines continued to push for the first goal, but found tough customers in the visitors who would not be pushovers.

The league leaders who were also seeking to consolidate their position at the summit of the table had to step up to foil all the attacking threats of Kotoko.

This resulted in an end-to-end action as both teams ran at each other in their attempt to break the deadlock.

They however went into the break with the virginity of the match intact.

Kotoko started the second half just as they did in the first half, making early incursions into the vital area of Samartex.

As they probed for the opener, referee
George Vormawor awarded them a penalty for an infringement on Peter Amidu Acquah in the box.

Morrison made no mistake from the spot as he sent goalkeeper Kofi Baah the wrong direction for the opener.

As expected, Samartex threw more men upfront after conceding but Kotoko stood firm to defend their lines with Asare making some spectacular saves to preserve their lead.

Both coaches introduced fresh limbs as the match entered the 70th minute with so much to play for in the last 20 minutes.

But Porcupine Warriors held on to win for the first time in eight matches, bringing their winless run in the second round to an end at the expense of the league leaders.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Jude Bellingham scored his second injury-time winner against Barcelona this season to secure Real Madrid another thrilling El Clasico win.

Just when it looked like this Clasico would end honours even, following goals from Andreas Christensen and Fermin Lopez for Barca and a Vinicius Junior penalty and a Lucas Vazquez effort for the hosts, England star Bellingham broke Blaugrana hearts with a 91st-minute winner at Santiago Bernabeu.

Nearly six months on from his 92nd-minute winner against Xavi’s side in October, the ex-Birmingham City man repeated the trick; this time in front of his adoring home fans.

For the winner, Madrid ace Joselu collected the ball on the right wing and his drilled cross evaded everyone, bar team-mate Bellingham, who was on hand to guide a finish past Marc-Andre Ter Stegen on Sunday night.

Bellingham signed for Madrid from Borussia Dortmund for an initial £88 million ($108.9m) and since then he has proven to be an excellent acquisition, scoring 21 goals and bagging 10 assists.

Now,
with six games to go, Los Blancos have an 11-point lead ahead of their great rivals thanks to Bellingham’s heroics.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side have a chance to take another step closer to the league title when they take on Real Sociedad on Friday night, before locking horns with Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals the following Tuesday.

Source: Ghana Web

Bofoakwa Tano needed to come from behind and draw 1-1 against Bechem United on Sunday, April 21, 2024, at the Sunyani Coronation Park in match week 27 of the 2023/24 Ghana Premier League.

The home side failed to build on their big draw against Nations FC in the previous weekend as Bofoakwa Tano aims to avoid the drop.

With the draw, Bofoakwa Tano sit 15th on the league table with 31 points, moving one place up from the 16th position they started the day in.

But, Bechem United remain sixth on the table with 39 points as they continue to push for a top-four finish.

The Hunters took the lead after 29 minutes to shock the home crowd, with the lead lasting only eight minutes.

Bashiru Abu equalized for Bofoakwa Tano with eight minutes to the end of the first half, making it 1-1, how the game ended ultimately.

Bofoakwa next takes on Nsoatreman while Bechem United faces Dreams FC.

Source: Ghana Web

Ghanaian forward Frank Acheampong excelled for Henan FC in their Chinese Super League match against Qingdao Hainiu on Sunday, April 21, 2024.

Frank Acheampong scored the winning goal to help his side secure a 1-0 victory.

The victory underscores Acheampong’s pivotal role within the team, highlighting his knack for scoring crucial goals and contributing significantly to their success.

Frank Acheampong’s goal came after 50 minutes, putting Henan FC ahead 1-0. His precise finish proved to be the decisive moment in the game, as his team held onto the lead until the final whistle.

Source: Ghana Web

Ernest Nuamah was on target for Olympique Lyon on Sunday, April 21, 2024, when the team suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germaine in the French Ligue 1.

The talented Black Stars teenager started for his team in their Round 30 encounter of the French top-flight league.

With a role on the flanks, Ernest Nuamah put on a good performance and scored his team’s only goal of the game in the 37th minute.

Unfortunately, his goal could only serve as a consolation as PSG put Lyon to the sword to amass all three points.

The league leaders in French Ligue 1 took the lead through Nemanja Matic’s own goal in the 3rd minute before Lucan Beraldi made it 2-0 three minutes later.

Courtesy of a brace from Goncalo Ramos later on, PSG cruised to an emphatic 4-1 win to stay top of the French Ligue 1 standings.

Source: Ghana Web

Supporters of Kumasi Asante Kotoko were able to afford a smile for the first time in eight matches after beating Samartex 1996 by a goal to nil at the Baba Yara Stadium on Sunday in a match week 27 encounter of the Ghana Premier League.

The last time the Porcupines tasted victory was on March 1 when they defeated Bibiani Gold Stars at the same venue.

Since that match, they had managed to pick only a point from a possible 21, leaving their fans in excruciating pains as they watched their darling club sink down the table week after week.

Even more disheartening was the fact that they lost three consecutive matches at their favourite Baba Yara Stadium right in front of their fans.

Perhaps taking inspiration from their Life Patron who called for an emergency meeting days before the match, the ‘fabulous boys’ demonstrated commitment to overturn the poor results throughout the match.

They made their attacking intent known right from the blast of the whistle as they stormed the half of their guests in search of
an early goal.

As they surged forward in their quest to end their winless run in the second round of the league, Enoch Morrison hit the woodwork with only four minutes into the game.

The visitors responded almost immediately at the other end of the pitch when Evans Osei Owusu forced a brilliant save from Frederick Asare.

Determined to bounce back after three consecutive losses at home, the Porcupines continued to push for the first goal, but found tough customers in the visitors who would not be pushovers.

The league leaders who were also seeking to consolidate their position at the summit of the table had to step up to foil all the attacking threats of Kotoko.

This resulted in an end-to-end action as both teams ran at each other in their attempt to break the deadlock.

They however went into the break with the virginity of the match intact.

Kotoko started the second half just as they did in the first half, making early incursions into the vital area of Samartex.

As they probed for the opener, referee
George Vormawor awarded them a penalty for an infringement on Peter Amidu Acquah in the box.

Morrison made no mistake from the spot as he sent goalkeeper Kofi Baah the wrong direction for the opener.

As expected, Samartex threw more men upfront after conceding but Kotoko stood firm to defend their lines with Asare making some spectacular saves to preserve their lead.

Both coaches introduced fresh limbs as the match entered the 70th minute with so much to play for in the last 20 minutes.

But Porcupine Warriors held on to win for the first time in eight matches, bringing their winless run in the second round to an end at the expense of the league leaders.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Former Black Stars skipper, Asamoah Gyan, has made fresh and interesting revelations about the decision by then Black Stars coach, Kwasi Appiah, to strip him of the Black Stars captaincy ahead of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Asamoah Gyan told Atinka FM in an interview that Kwasi Appiah was not the brain behind his dismissal as Ghana captain and that he was only used to convey the news to him.

Asamoah Gyan said that he is aware of the people who schemed to oust him from the role as Ghana captain but would not want to make it public.

He, however, hinted that it could be a decision of the Normalization Committee, which was overseeing Ghana football at the time.

Asamoah Gyan claims that Kwasi Appiah still regrets the decision to have been the one who communicated the decision to him and that he (Asamoah Gyan) holds no grudge against Kwasi Appiah or the people who orchestrated it.

‘The explanation wasn’t from the coach. I don’t want to go into details but it didn’t come from the coach. It was the period of
Normalization Committee so I know it wasn’t coming from him. Kwasi Appiah will insist that it was his decision but I know it wasn’t his decision and he regrets doing it,’ Gyan said.

Asamoah Gyan also disclosed details of the conversation that ensued between him and Kwasi Appiah over the same issue.

According to Gyan, Kwasi Appiah struggled to convince him of the duties of the new role he was assigning him.

Following Kwasi Appiah’s struggles, Gyan said he offered to retire from the team.

‘I told him I did not understand the meaning of the role ‘General Captain’. I asked what it was about and he outlined my duties which were to support him and support the players. I then reminded him that it is the same role as a captain so what did he want with the ‘general’ tag?

‘I made the job simple for him by asking if I was being stripped of the captaincy or if I wasn’t part of his plans. His explanation wasn’t going well so I made it simple for him by offering to retire from the team. I did not want my presence to c
reate any form of tension in the camp so I offered to retire. I had a change of mind after speaking to the president. After speaking to the president, I went there wholeheartedly with no negative mindset’, he said.

Barely a month before the 2019 AFCON, Kwasi Appiah rocked his own boat by naming Andre Dede Ayew as the captain of the Black Stars, as a replacement for Asamoah Gyan, who was still in the team.

Asamoah Gyan, who was compensated with the General Captain position, felt disrespected and retired from the team, a decision the legendary striker rescinded upon the intervention of President Akufo-Addo.

Source: Ghana Web

A five-member para-athletic team has left Ghana for the 2024 Marrakech World Para Athletics (WPA) Grand Prix competition in Morocco.

The tournament fixed April 22-28 would serve as a qualifier for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

The competition would also give an opportunity for the classification of the first Ghanaian Para Athletes in shot put, standing javelin among others.

Other members of the team who have been classified already include 21-year-old Amos Ahiagah, a right arm amputee and he would be competing in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters and men’s long jump events.

Whiles 19-year-old Diana Kuubetegr also an arm amputee would be competing in the women’s 800 meters, 1,500 meters events.

Zinabu Issah an experienced para-athlete would also be competing in women’s sitting shot put, discuss throw and javelin events.

They called on corporate bodies to support the NPC National Paralympic Committee of Ghana to enable them to attend other Paris 2024 Paralympic Games qualification events coming up
in Japan, Switzerland and France respectively.

With the support of NPC Ghana, Ghana’s Dr Abena Tannor has qualified as a WPA international classifier and would be one of the doctors to embark on the classification for para-athletes at the event.

The team was sponsored by the President of the NPC of Ghana, Mr. Samson Deen with support from the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Sports Authority.

Source: Ghana News Agency