Five things we learnt from Ghana PL Matchday 1

After the first round of games of the 2015-16 Ghana Premier League, Goal takes a look at some of the major talking points

‘Pre-season champions’ given early wake-up call

Granted, Asante Kotoko may have come into Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to WAFA with a few injury worries, but that’s certainly not enough excuse for a side which boated of squad depth during pre-season.

The Porcupine Warriors raised two separate teams which creditably acquitted themselves well in winning the 2016 Ghalca G6 Tournament and narrowly falling to Libyan side Al Ittihad Tripoli over two legs in their pre-season tour of the North African country.

As such, coach David Duncan will have to fully accept responsibility for Saturday’s defeat and be reminded of the fact that it’s one thing to have a good pre-season and another to transcend that form into the league properly.

Dreams FC mean business

No side among the three newly-promoted showed as much zeal ahead of kick-off as Dreams FC. Coach Charles Kwabena Akonnor’s men secured their league promotion in style and were equally busy in pre-season, bringing in a host of names that have seen it all in the topflight.

The Dawu-based side also secured a mega sponsorship deal with a microfinance company and they didn’t miss an opportunity to publicize their activities on social media. That included the unveiling of new signings as well as behind-the-scene camp photos. And in their very first match of premiership action, they made sure they walk the talk, securing a valuable away victory at Cape Coast. It’s surely early days yet, but they certainly do deserve some credit.

Kenichi’s boys will not have it easy

It had to take a 78th-minute strike from Samuel Yeboah to secure all three points for Hearts of Oak in their 1-0 home win over New Edubiase. The biggest winner on the day will undoubtedly be coach Kenichi Yatsuhashi who has taken a lot of stick over his capabilities following his appointment last October. The side initially struggled, but appeared to have found their Midas touch towards the end of pre-season with wins over Dreams FC, Nigerian side Ifeanyi Ubah and Swedru Professional.

Although, the Phobians did claim a win in their season’s opener on Sunday, they could have been left ruing several missed chances had Edubiase been a little more clinical in the final third. Kenichi was sincere to admit that his side were far from looking like title contenders.

Ashanti Gold won’t find title defence funny

Ashanti Gold may have done well in beating FA Cup winners and Caf Confederations Cup contenders Medeama SC on Sunday but they looked far from convincing. And that only goes to confirm fears from pre-season that defending their title could prove a tall order.

The Miners were bundled out of the 2016 Ghalca G6 tournament at the group stage and laboured to beat Algerian side MO Bejaia in their Caf Champions League clash in Obuasi last weekend. In between, they had fallen at the hands of Medeama in the 2016 Super Cup two weeks back. They may have picked a valuable revenge in their 2-1 triumph on Sunday, but quite don’t look like the real deal as yet.

Home dominance continues

This isn’t new to soccer lovers, but still worth a mention. Of eight games played over the weekend, Dreams FC recorded the only away win, with home sides picking maximum points in all other games. It’s worth adding that only two goals were scored on the road as against 13 scored by home sides.