Accra, Feb 15, GNA - Accra Hearts of Oaks widened their points lead atop of the Onetouch Premier League table courtesy an uninspiring 2-1 victory over gritty Sekondi Hasaacas in their 22nd week encounter at the Dansoman Carl Reindorf Park on Thursday.
Playing their first match at their newly adopted Dansoman Park after relocating from the Tema Sports Stadium, Hearts started the match on a blistering note and in the very first minute, Ekow Ghansah saw his pile driver from the edge of the box rebound off the goal posts but the ball just refused to enter the net.
Hasaacas who lost the first leg at home by a surprising 3-1 goal margin immediately responded and in the second minute also came close to scoring when slugging striker, Benjamin Annan shrugged off a tackle from Daniel Coleman to fire into the right corner of the net but the goal posts this time around came to Heart's rescue when it rebounded and came back into play.
Annan who was a constant threat upfront against Hearts was denied another opportunity in the sixth minute when his well taken effort from the edge of the box was met with a brilliant save from Hearts goalie Abubakar Sulemana.
The wobbly Hearts central defensive pair of Coleman and Michael Donkor appeared all at sea when Annan reacted first to a cross from the right to tap the ball into the net but to the surprise of the Hasaacas' bench Referee Frank Fudzi of Ho disallowed the goal for off-side positioning.
Both teams settled into their strides with Hasaacas dominating the middle while Hearts relied on the long balls which the Hasaacas defence found difficult dealing to handle.
In the 34th minute, Hearts finally broke the deadlock when former Hasaacas player, Moses Andoh headed home from a cute back-header from Joe Louis past goalkeeper Joseph Addo in post for the visitors. The second half was not all that different from the first but this time round the game degenerated into rough house tactics as both teams were guilty of some bone crunching tackles which nearly marred the beauty of the game.
In the 52nd minute, Annan who played a great game up front again came close with a well taken shot which brought an equally good save from Hearts best player of the day, keeper Suleman.
Hearts brought on Joseph Techie-Mensah to strengthen their ailing midfield in the 66th minute and this seemed to work for them to some extent as the Phobians briefly found their rhythm.
They eventually extended their lead in the 76th minute when a hard pressed defender of Hasaacas handled a Joe Louis shot in the box for the referee to point to the spot.
After a brief protest from the Hasaacas players, normalcy resumed for Tachie-Mensah to convert the kick for Hearts insurance goal. Even though two goals down, Hasaacas never game up the fight as they continued to push for a consolation goal, which they duly got in the 89th minute after hard working midfielder Samuel Ellis meandered his way past two Hearts defenders to plant the ball into the blind side of keeper Suleman. 15 Feb. 07
