Asante Kotoko wrapped up their season with a major title after Sadick Adams' hat-trick secured a 3-1 victory over bitter rivals Accra Hearts of Oak in the final of the MTN FA Cup on Sunday.
Adams started and ended Kotoko's scoring in the first half as they established a 3-0 lead at the break, before Thomas Abbey's consolation for Hearts in a second half that the Phobians dominated.
Kotoko's win at the Tamale Stadium earned them a record 10th Ghanaian FA Cup, while the win also sees them qualify for next season's CAF Confederation Cup.
Adams' first goal arrived just two minutes into the game when he trapped Kwame Boahene's cross from the left and picked his spot to beat Ben Mensah.
The former Atletico Madrid forward added a second on 31 minutes when Richard Akrofi pulled him down in the box for a penalty. Adams stepped up to tuck the ball past Mensah as the Porcupine Warriors established a two-goal advantage.
By this point, the initiative was firmly with Asante Kotoko, and they took a further stranglehold on the match just before half time when Vincent Atinga mistimed a long ball, allowing Adams to go through one-on-one with Mensah.
He took his chance superbly with a cool finish to complete his hat-trick to take Kotoko to the brink of cup glory.
The hat-trick was the first by a Kotoko player against Hearts since Opoku Nti netted three times in a league game in 1983.
On that occasion, Hearts won 4-3, but there was to be no dramatic comeback on this occasion, despite Thomas Abbey's consolation goal midway through the second half, when he connected with Mohammed Fatau's cross to give Hearts a glimmer of hope.