Hearts of Oak and Aduana Stars to battle for maximum points

kwame

July 8, 2016 10:40 AM

Preview of the Ghana Premier League game between Hearts of Oak and Aduana Stars.

Hearts of Oak will engage Aduana Stars on match day 18 of the 2016

The first round clash in Dormaa ended 1-1. Emmanuel Akuoko shot the home side into the lead in the first half but Cosmos Dauda restored parity for the Phobians in the second half.

The Phobians will be eyeing their second home win in the second round of the ongoing campaign while the Dormaa giants are targeting their first away win in the second round of games.

Both sides are among the top four clubs with respect to the league standings. The Phobians sit in 3rd position with 30 points while Aduana Stars are at fourth. A win for either Hearts of Oak or Aduana Stars will enlighten their dream of challenging for the league title.

Hearts of Oak will be going into the game from the backdrop of a 1-1 draw at Liberty Professionals for the “Ogya Lads” they thrashed struggling Dwarfs 3-0 at their favourite Dormaa Park.

It will be a battle of two expatriate coaches as Sergio Traguil from Portugal will be in the dug out of the Accra giants while Croatian Aristica Cioba will be heading Aduana Stars’ technical bench.

Isaac Mensah spoke to Pulse.com.gh ahead of Sunday’s duel in Accra.

“We started the second round by winning 1-0 against Dreams FC, we targeted a win against Liberty but we had a draw which we weren’t happy about it.

“This Sunday we are facing Aduana Stars at home and it is a game that we have to win. The morale in camp is very high and we are optimistic of beating them for the three points,” Mensah opined.

But Aduana Stars dependable defender Emmanuel Akuoko is unperturbed with Hearts of Oak’s threat.

“We are not worried over what they are saying, we have one aim on Sunday which is getting the three points. This season they have lost three times at home so we are also capable of winning in Accra.

‘It will be a tough game but we have the men to do the job because currently in our squad we have the leading top scorer in the team Yaya Mohammed who has scored 13 goals in the league,” said Akuoko.

Match facts

The two sides have met 13 times since Aduana Stars got promoted into the Ghana Premier League in the 2009/10 season.

The Phobians have won five, lost two, and six games have ended in a draw. 19 goals have been scored in this fixture. Hearts of Oak have scored 11 goals as against Aduana’s 8.

HEAD TO HEAD

2009 / 2010

Aduana 1-0 HeartsHearts 1-0 Aduana

2010 / 2011

Aduana 0-0 HeartsHearts 1-0 Aduana

2011 / 2012

Hearts 0-0 AduanaAduana 0-1 Hearts

2012 / 2013

Hearts 1-1 AduanaAduana 0-0 Hearts

2013 / 2014

Hearts 2-2 AduanaAduana 0-1 Hearts

2014/2015