Hearts retain President’s Cup

Ghana’s two biggest clubs Accra Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko renewed feud in the 2015 President's Cup played at the Accra Sports Stadium on Wednesday.

After a breathless goalless draw both sides went for a penalty shootout that saw the Porcupine Warriors prevailing at 5-4 after Kotoko’s Michael Akuffo fluffed his side’s decisive kick.

Hearts, who won the previous edition of the President's Cup, began in high spirits, dominating possession with short and sharp passes, as the visitors retreated on the defensive.

Interplay between Eric Kumi and Selasi Adjei could have put the hosts ahead by the 10th minute but the last ditch effort was screwed, with Kotoko goalkeeper Ofori Antwi perfectly gathering the ball.

Kotoko talisman Ahmed Toure drifted deep in a solo move but his finish went too comfortable for Heart’s goalkeeper Soulama Abdulai.

Hearts remained wasteful in front of goal, with the most blatant blunder surfacing just after the half hour mark when Kumi, after subduing defender Small Boye Korbah in the box, bungled his close-range effort.

Moments later, Kotoko’s Atta Kusi selfishly squared for Eric Donkor, who failed to slot his effort into an empty net, as both teams went for the break with the score still standing goalless.

Kotoko returned more determined, but like their opponents in first half, they kept failing to find success in front of goal.

Toure’s long-range shot in the 65th minute was on target but found a solid Abdulai on its trajectory.

The session delved into the movement of balls from one post to the other with no results, as fans at the 40,000-seater facility sat on the edge of their seats waiting for a goal.

Hearts captain Robin Gnagne received a booking for poking his Ivorian countryman Toure in the face, which ended the thriller in a goalless draw after 90 minutes and four minutes of added time.

The penalty shootout went in favour of Hearts, who transformed five kicks, with Kotoko’s Michael Akuffo missing his side’s decisive kick to hand the Porcupine Warriors victory.

The two sides will receive $12,000 each as appearance fee.