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Dauda Mohammed tops list of best performers after first round

The Kotoko marksman was the most influential player on the field after the first half of the Ghana Premier league.

The Kotoko player scored a total of 7 league goals despite missing a couple of games due to injury and national team commitment. Dauda Mohammed beat off competition from Latif Blessing and Yahaya Mohammed to emerge as the best player of the first round

1. Dauda Mohammed

Dauda Mohammed wasn’t just a scorer, he was the tormentor-in-chief in the Kumasi Asante Kotoko team and his pace, workaholic nature, coupled with his goal scoring prowess caused much panic to opposing sides.

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The highlight of his performance was a brace against Dwarfs in Kotoko’s 3-0 victory and a hat-trick on the final day of the league, which was the third by a player in the season. Dauda Mohammed was not just a goal poacher as I earlier stated, but he was also a tormentor in the first half of the season, even his presence was hugely felt in games, he didn’t find the back of the net and it was evident in the Porcupine Warriors’ victory against Hearts of Oak in Accra. He put pressure on Richard Akrofi, which forced him to locate goalkeeper Soulama Abdoulaye and the presence of the youngster forced the Burkina Faso shot-stopper to commit a howler by miskicking the ball into his own net.

Again we can’t talk about the first round without stressing on Dauda Mohammed’s sensational goal against Dreams FC at Dawu Park under 30 seconds, the fastest of the season to hand the Porcupine warriors their first away league victory and Dreams first defeat at home. It gave sports broadcasters, writers a lot to write and talk about.

I would say that coach Michael Osei succeeded after taking over from David Duncan as the caretaker coach of the team largely because, the talisman rose to the occasion on several instances. Good coaches need exceptional players to make them and Dauda Mohammed offered Michael Osei that option. That was why kotoko whowere rocked bottom of the league table, after match day 6, picked up 7 wins and 2 defeats after he took over from David Duncan to finish the first half at 3 position, with Dauda Mohammed scoring an incredible 7 goals in that process.

2. Latif Blessing

The Liberty Professionals darling boy, who is affectionately called the Ghana Messi or the Mohammed Polo of our days for his dribbles, accuracy at passing and amazing finishing.

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In just his second season in the league, Latif Blessing has become a household name in Ghana football cycles due to his qualities. He has 9 goals in his name and entering into the final day of the first round, the youngster was tied on goals with Yahaya Mohammed. This shows, how he has managed to put Liberty Professionals right on his shoulders, by influencing the outcome of matches.

Blessing scored in every single home league game played in the season, except against Dwarfs on the last day of the first round. He was in the news on several occasions, scoring a brace against AshGold and Berekum Chelsea at the Carl Reindorf Park, Dansoman and went top of the top scorers chart after match day 8. He was a game changer and his presence scared a lot of clubs. Despite failing to score in certain games, he was the talk of town, especially their 0-1 victory over Hearts of Oak on match day 14. Latif blessing in that game was the most outstanding performer, he dribbled past the Hearts of oak defenders with much ease.

3. Yahaya Mohammed

The former Kotoko striker finished the first half of the season as the top scorer, despite missing two league games. He opened his goal account on match day 6, at a time some players had already taken the lead in the race for the top scorer of the Ghana Premier League. Yahaya Mohammed kept on believing and his goal against Kotoko a tonic to bring back his goal scoring form. He fetched the 2 hat-trick of the season against Hasaacas on match day 8, before hitting a brace on match day 9 against Medeama. Entering into the final day of the season he was tied on goals with Latif Blessing, who had thrown him a challenge prior to the start of the league that he was a better player than him in all the qualities expected of a good player and that he would beat him to the goal king award. Although Yahaya Mohammed had not scored in 3 consecutive league games heading into the match day 15, he put up an impressive form to score a brace in Aduana Stars 4-2 victory over Becehm United to finish the first half of the season as the leading top scorer. One unique thing about Yahaya Mohammed that worked perfectly for Aduana Stars was that he formed a good strike partnership with Bright Adjei.

4. Samuel Tetteh

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The West African Football Academy (WAFA) attacking midfielder was a delight to watch throughout the first the season. He combined with his team mates to set the tone for Asante Kotoko’s poor start to the season, when he scored in their 2-0 win against Kotoko on the opening day of the season. He registered the first hat-trick of the season in his side’s 5-0 win against Hasaacas on match day 3. He has been taking a lot of defenders on and has been devastating in front of the goal area scoring 5 goals. His outstanding performance enabled Black Stars coach Avram Grant to keep faith in him by handing him another call-up into the Black stars as they prepare to face Mauritius on 4th June.

5. Sadick Adams

The former Atletico Madrid player, returned into the Ghana Premier league after several years abroad. He kicked the ground running by getting the goals. Sadick Adams was at a point tied on goals with the likes of Eric Bekoe, Samuel Tetteh, Latif Blessing, all on 4 goals as joint top scorers. He finished the first round of the season scoring 7 goals, while leading Berekum Chelsea as the skipper of the side.

Sadick Adams was able to take defenders on and create a lot of goal scoring chances for his playing mates. His impressive display has caught the attention of several clubs, who are chasing for his signature, including the two most glamourous clubs in the country, Kotoko and Hearts, making his employers peg his price at 100,00 euros. Sadick Adams has been all over the news and has immensely contributed to the promotion of the Ghana Premier League.

6. Isaac Mensah

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The youngster affectionately called Ashaiman Messi or Messi Messi by football loving fans in Ghana has printed his name on the minds of football fans who trooped into the various stadia to watch Hearts of Oak play against opposing sides. Although he wasn’t Kenichi Yatsuhashi’s preferred starter for the season, he made hay where the sun shined when he came off the bench to demonstrate his skills and surging runs in Hearts of Oak’s opening game of the season. It would have been a tough decision for the head coach to start him from the bench after that game, but the absence of Hearts of Oak ball joggler, Samudeen Ibrahim due to injury made the choice easier for Kenichi. Isaac Mensah has since been a consistent performer and has been a torn in the flesh of several defenders.

7. Kadir Mohammed

The qualities of Kadir Mohammed remind me of Franz Beckenbauer, the two times Ballon D’or winner as a defender and one of the two persons to win the World Cup as a player and a coach with Germany. Although, the league champions have been a pale shadow of themselves, struggling throughout the season, the young centre back has been amazing. He helped Ashanti Gold win the Ghana Premier League in his debut season, after graduating from their junior side. Kadir Mohammed was voted the fans player of last season and has replicated that performance this season.

He has been a pillar in defence and is one pf the reasons why AshGold are a difficult side to beat, despite their poor run of form, having lost only 3 games (D10, D2). The incredible performance from the ball playing defender, who sometimes plays as a defensive midfielder, has earned him a call-up into the Black Stars, as they prepare for the African Cup of Nations qualifier against Mauritius.

8. Malik Akowuah

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The former Ashanti Gold midfielder is one of the most sought after players in the league at the moment. He has established himself in the Medeama midfield and formed good partnership with Kwesi Donsu. He is a box to box midfielder, but noted for his defensive duties in midfield. He is also good at set –pieces, scoring a stunning free kick against Kumasi Asante Kotoko in Kumasi and is one of the key men who have made Medeama combine effectively continental and domestic football.

9.Richard Ofori

The Wa All Stars goalkeeper is the safest pair of hands in the domestic league. He let in only 6 goals in post for Wa All Stars, as his team have conceded 9 goals, which is the fewest number of goals for the season. Richard Ofori has been part of the Black Stars team and is at the moment the number two in the absence of Adam Kwarasey and his consistent performance in post has given Avram Grant no reason to axe him from his current call-up.

10. Richard Arthur

Wa All Stars centre forward has made a lot of headlines by scoring against three former winners of the Ghana Premier League. He was on the score sheet in their 3-1 thrashing of Hearts of Oak in Accra, scored the only goal against Kotoko to end their unbeaten run in 4 games and hit the only goal against Berekum Chelsea at Berekum on match day 15.

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Richard Arthur has been the game winner for the league leaders Wa All Stars in several games. He either plays as a supporting striker or operate from the flanks and has been described by a number of coaches as the most energetic player in the Ghana Premier League at the moment. He scored 6 goals to finish the first half of the season as his club’s top scorer and was the more reason they finished the first round on top of the league log.

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