Goldfields Win

In the game of football, luck could make all the difference in a match. And if Goldfields had had just a little bit of luck, they would be smiling all the way. As it turned out, they had very little of it and in their one-eighth stage first leg match of the African Champions Club competition against Stade de Malien, they could only manage a 1-0 win despite the numerous chances that came their way.

Playing in front of a capacity crowd at the Len Clay Stadium, Obuasi, Goldfields went into the match poised to demolish the Malian opposition so as to make the return match a mere formality, but good goalkeeping by keeper Mamoutu Kone of Stade and the excellent assistance he received from his defence men matched with sheer luck, ensured that Goldfields had only one goal to show for all their hard work.

The only goal of the match came as early as the fifth minute when Tony Tieku, playing at he outside left position latched onto a loose ball midway into the Malian side of the pitch. He sent a pass to left winger Eben Hagan who floated the ball back for Tieku to head home. From then on, the goal-area of the Malians was subjected to incessant raids. However none of those raids yielded any results as Kone repeatedly produced saves to the annoyance and appreciation of the large fans. In fact so good was he that the Brazilian Coach of Goldfields Oswaldo Sampaio voted him the man of the match. The return leg comes on this week at Bamako.