After a one month break, the second round of the Ghana Premier League commenced over the weekend.

Great Olympics have overtaken Karela United at the top, Hearts of Oak remain unbeaten under Samuel Boadu as Asante Kotoko drop points despite Fabio Gama scoring his debut goal.

Here are the five talking points from matchday 18:

Great Olympics fans starting to believe

Coming into the season, Great Olympics' were expected to battle relegation considering their prior form in the truncated 2019/20 season.

But after 18 games, Great Olympics are surprisingly top of the table. The thought of relegation has been banished with fans starting to believe they can win the title.

Fans were captured singing and dancing after Olympics recorded another important win last Friday as they beat Medeama by a lone goal at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The 1-0 win over Medeama, a strong opposition and title favourite, confirm Olympics as genuine title contenders.

Olympics are unbeaten against the top-six clubs which include Karela United, Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak. They beat Kotoko and Hearts 1-0 and 2-0 respectively in the first round.

They have recorded the most wins, an impressive 10, but have lost five and drawn three.

The wait is over for Gama

Fabio Gama trended on social media on Saturday for the right reasons after scoring his debut goal in the Ghana Premier League for Asante Kotoko.

Gama, 27, netted in the 1-1 draw against Techiman Eleven Wonders at the Ohene Ameyaw Park. His goal opened the scoring for Kotoko but Samuel Boakye equalized for the home side.

The Brazilian went down on his knees, lifted hands towards the sky and said a prayer as he celebrated. His reaction after scoring tells how important the goal is to him.

Gama will hope to score more to help Kotoko end the season as champions.

Hearts of Oak back in the hunt for title

Two months ago, the Phobians were in turmoil. The resignation of the technical team, headed by Kosta Papic, forced supporters to storm the club’s secretariat and demonstrate against Togbe Afede XIV-led administration.

At the time, Hearts were sitting out of the top 10, three points away from the relegation zone after 13 games.
But the board assured the things will change in the coming weeks, and rightly so, the Phobians are currently enjoying a great run on the field.

On Sunday, they extended their unbeaten run to six games following a 2-0 win over Aduana Stars in Accra. The win took them above rivals Asante Kotoko and within three points of the top spot.

Their current form, should they maintain it, can see them win their first league title in over a decade.

Accra at risk of losing three clubs

Greater Accra has the highest representation of clubs in the Ghana Premier League this season. As many as five clubs are based in the nation's capital.

The number could, however, reduce at the end of the season, judging by the current league table. While Great Olympics and Hearts of Oak are first and third respectively, three teams are among the last four on the league log.

Inter Allies are bottom, Liberty Professionals are second from bottom and Legon Cities are fourth from bottom. With 16 games to go, these teams must improve else they would be relegated.

Fans defy GFA directive

Ahead of matchday 18, the GFA, in consultation with National Covid-19 Task Force, issued a directive for the games to be played without fans. However, the directive was disregarded.

The Techiman Ohene Ameyaw Park was full to capacity for the game between Eleven Wonders and Asante Kotoko. Tickets were sold to fans who trooped to the venue in their numbers to watch the 1-1 draw. The GFA has responded by handing Eleven Wonders a home ban.

Elsewhere in Accra, some fans made their way to the stadium to watch Olympics win over Medeama.

Also, on Sunday, fans were arrested for jumping over stadium wall to watch Hearts of Oak's clash with Aduana Stars.

The GFA and clubs will need to find an immediate solution to help curb the current stadium situation.