The curious case of Cosmos Dauda: Injury woes or complacency?

Eleven goals in his debut season for Hearts, the brightest spot in a turbulent end to the season for the Phobians and many fans were expectant of greater things to come from Cosmos Dauda.

An injury at the tail end of last season ended the Phobians’ dream of a league title but more importantly, it has ended his dream of having a successful second season.

The once loved striker has become the most jeered player in the Hearts rank. His hold up play has deserted him, his instincts infront of goal have diminished and his ability to shrug off defenders and beat his man have miraculously gone missing in his game.

Two goals which demonstrated his attributes last season where both on the road in Tarkwa and Obuasi.

In Tarkwa where he scored his debut goal, he held off a defender with brute force, running at full pace to slot the ball behind the reach of Muntari Tagoe.

His goal against Ashantigold was a mixture of two things. He showed great pace to reach a knock down and added great composure to pick his spot despite being surrounded by three players.

The cause of this could be attributed to failure to fully recover from his injury or just complacency or probably investing his energy elsewhere but in all this, his coach, Frank Nuttall, is willing to stand behind his striker as he seeks to recapture his old form.

“People look at Cosmos Dauda with only one eye open or maybe they have a slanted opinion of the player, but this was the top scorer for the club last year,” Nuttall said after Dauda’s performance against Elmina Sharks.

“This a guy who works physically very hard so I will continue to support him but he knows like everyone else about how they need to keep working hard to stay in the team.

“We have got guys who can come off the bench and are really trying as well and I’ve got others who unable to on but are ready to play’,” Nuttall said in an interview.

Dauda has scored a single goal this season. His scored the fourth goal as Hearts beat Bechem United 4-2.