The Ghana Premier League finaly shook off its goal-shy tag this weekend with a blitz aided largely by Aduana Stars and new boys Karela.
However, the weekend also highlighted Asante Kotoko's goalscoring deficiency and a widening problem with attendance in the League.
Aduana spark to life
The Dormaa club are everyone's favourites to successfully defend their title, and they provided evidence of that with a stunning 6-0 thumping of Inter Allies on Sunday. It was the biggest win in the Ghana Premier League since Asante Kotoko beat Tano Bofoakwa by the same margin 14 years ago. Yahaya Mohammed netted the first hat-trick of the season and displayed their range of goalscoring options with Nathaniel Asamoah, Emmanuel Akuoku and Bright Agyei. It was also their most emphatic statement yet that they would be the team to beat yet again.
Numbers betray Kotoko ambitions
While Aduana have consistently found a path to goal from multiple sources, Kotoko continue to struggle and needed an 85th-minute bailout from Jordan Opoku and a controversial offside call to beat Eleven Wonders 1-0. It continued a recent theme of difficulties in front of goal that has denied them a league title in the last four years. This season has been pretty much the same -- in four League games, Kotoko has scored only three times ...
Liberty struggles continue
The ex-star factory of Ghana football can't seem to catch a break this season. Liberty Professionals continue to be rooted to the bottom of the standings with a rookie coach and mostly rookie players who are struggling to adapt. They have one point from four games and blew the perfect opportunity to record their first win on Sunday when Bright Andoh missed from the penalty spot in injury-time with the score at 1-1.
Cape Coast begins to feel like home for Hearts
After a jerky start, Accra Hearts of Oak are finally beginning to come into their own this season. On Sunday, they earned their second win, both of them at their adopted home grounds in Cape Coast and both with clean sheets. Patrick Razak scored his second goal in as many games against Dreams FC to hand them the win and relieve the early pressure that was beginning to build on coach Henry Wellington.
Empty stadiums
The Ghana Football Association has been touting the credentials of the Ghana Premier League with weekly briefings as it attempts to increase its profile, but the latest round of matches provided a sober reminder of the scale of the task. On Saturday, the televised game between Elmina Sharks and WAFA was held up for about 45 minutes because of a power cut. Then there was the sight of the game in a virtually empty stadium. The empty stands were a common feature in the Hearts-Dreams FC and Kotoko-Eleven Wonders games too. It is a situation that requires urgent action and a bit thinking now.