Expectations High On LG Top 4 Round II

An exciting second round of the LG Top Four Tournament beckons soccer fans as the competing teams - Hearts, Kotoko, Liberty and Olympics - take the final step to realising their cherished dream of clinching the ultimate stake.

The battlelines seem to have been drawn and the men separated from the boys. But make no mistake, the game is far from over.

What perhaps could make this round more interesting is the fact that, the smaller clubs - Liberty and Olympics - hold the key to the success of the two most glamorous teams, Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.

Liberty are currently pinned third on the table with three points, three less than Hearts and six points below Kotoko and may want to re-launch their ambition of pulling the greatest upsets, winning the rest of the matches to annex the trophy.

Olympics could be written off completely, but the outcome of the rest of their matches would, to a very large extent, determine how far the two top teams would go.

Just last weekend, Kotoko, under their new Coach Abdul Razak, chalked a memorable victory over their biggest "foes", Hearts, bashing them 2-0 at the Kumasi Sports stadium, which catapulted them to the top of the standings.

But perhaps the challenge for Kotoko now is how to fight hard to dodge a possible upset scare from the rest of the clubs.

And that assignment, begins this Sunday, as Kotoko meet dark horses Great Olympics at the Accra Sports Stadium. Kotoko, the favourite having beaten the same side 3-1 in the opening match of the tourney a fortnight ago in Kumasi. But trust Olympics to cause an upset when you least expect them.

Olympics must first find an antidote to the crack Kotoko defence marshalled around phenomenal Joseph Hendricks and develop a strategy to apply the breaks on speedster Michael Osei (Emba Power) and intelligent Isaac Boakye.

The two other teams especially Hearts would be praying for that upset to materialise in order to brighten their chances of moving to the top. But even that prayer would only be meaningful if they are able to beat Liberty who, until a fortnight ago, had become a boggy side. It would be fireworks on Saturday as Liberty eyes a sweet revenge from a side that recorded a 2-0 victory over them in the opening match. And the results of Saturday's encounter would determine the amount of energy Kotoko would have to exert on Sunday.

Resurgent Liberty are beginning to warm themselves into the tournament, scoring a record 4-0 over no less a team than Olympics, sending strong signals to Hearts of what the D-day would be like. But the technical handlers of the Dansoman team would have to psyche the team's inexperienced young strikers including Asamoah Gyan, a grandaunt of the VALCO Schools Academicals soccer team, to withstand the tension at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The Phobians on the other hand, would first have to win a psychological battle of overcoming their shock 0-2 loss to Kotoko and condition themselves for the task ahead; else, it could be the beginning of the fall of the great club.