Medeama clinched the Ghana Super Cup with a 1-0 victory over Ashantigold. Striker Benard Ofori fired in the only goal with few minutes remaining.

What are the talking points of the 2015/2016 football season opener?

1.    LOW TURN-OUT A BOTHER?

In my few years of existence, the word “free” for Ghanaians is often characterized by large crowds or patronage. Be it free food, free credit or free drinks, a whole host of people swamp over to enjoy the freebies. This is directly the opposite when it comes to Ghana football at the moment. The word “free” could not even entice football loving fans to the stadium. The Accra Sports was close to empty. I might dare to say the journalists at the stadium including their technicians to cover the game were more than the fans at the stadium. The indication is that more and more people were glued to their TV sets as Chelsea and Manchester United battled it out at Stamford Bridge.  Another school of thought believes both Ashantigold and Medeama do not have a large following and a venue closer to both teams might have increased patronage. Others were simply not interested in the game (as pictured from a tweet below on our social media platform). All in all, we hope this game was just a case of poor publicity and not a case of Ghana football dying.

2.  TOM STRAND VARIES TACTICS

Swede Tom Strand is fast cementing his place as one of the finest tactical brains in the country after leading his side to produce a tactical masterclass yesterday. The Yellow and Mauves caught Ashantigold off guard in the first half of the game with a 3-4-3 (3-4-2-1) formation reminiscent of Brendan Rodger’s system used at Liverpool some point last season. The Tarkwa side started with the ever reliable Malik Akowuah in an unusual center back position alongside Paul Aidoo and Daniel Amoah. Full backs Moses Sarpong and Samuel Addae provided the width in midfield while Kwasi Donsu and Kwame Boahene run the show from midfield. New signing Enoch Atta Agyei, Benjamin Bature and Abass Mohammed provided the ammunition with a three prong attack running rings around the Ashgold backline. As a result Augustine Sefa and Joshua Tijani were forced to stay narrow as they failed to provide any attacking outlet for the Miners. The second half saw Strand switch to a more traditional 4-4-2 with Akowuah stepping up into midfield. While this change saw Medeama lost total control of the game, they were still a threat anytime they went forward. Ashantigold simply did not have much solutions to the questions posed by Tom Strand and his charges.

3.   ASHANTIGOLD SAVING THEIR LEGS FOR BEJAIA

Coach Bashir Hayford has over the years built teams that have played attractive football with heavy emphasis on passing and movement but this was not evident in the Super Cup game. However, the Miners played within themselves for large portions of the game. Midfield generals Joseph Ato Bissah and Eric Opoku were pedestrians for large portions of the game as they watched Medeama ran rings around them.  Their best threat came from defender Kadri Mohammed who picked the ball from his own half and run through midfield. New signing Isaac Amoah showed some promise with his pace but fizzled out after a few runs. The often reliable Nuhu Fuseini was lacking in confidence and fluffed a few half chances he would generally have converted if he was still in an Edubiase jersey. In general, the Miners feared to go in for challenges gifting the Yellow and Mauves all the 50 50 balls. This assertion was confirmed by Coach Bashir Hayford who confirmed to Asempa FM the players were saving their legs for the Algerians. Let’s hope the Miners save their best for this weekend as they provided their Algerian scouts in the stands little or nothing to report on.

4.    REFEREES ARE HUMAN

The act of refeering is no easy work as they are tasked to basically do much running for the entire duration of the game. In addition to this, they are entitled to make decisions within a split second. Offside, penalty, corner and throw-in calls are all border line decisions which must be decided by the man at center alongside his assistant. In the Super Cup game, the game was virtually decided by refeering decisions at both sides of the field. While Ashantigold’s goal was disallowed for offside, Medeama’s stood. To add to this, the Miners believe the build up to Medeama’s goal was preceded by their striker Mumuni Shafiu’s perceived injury which Daniel Laryea blatantly ignored. In the law books, the referee has the discretion to stop or continue the game if a player lies on the ground injured. The referee is only obliged to stop the game if a player is carrying a head injury. In yesterday’s game it was a case of the former. TV replays show Ashantigold’s goal was wrongly ruled out, but the referee and his assistants do not have the privilege to that and hence must make a decision on the spot. It is not easy to officiate hence they should be cut some slack.

5.    ASHANTIGOLD NEED TO PUT UP A BETTER SHOW

Ashantigold have every right to be aggrieved for their disallowed goal but their boycotting of the medal ceremony is totally unacceptable. The hours spent to prepare and money used for the tie cannot be overlooked but their act was simply out of place. The Miners quickly left the pitch after a team prayer straight into the tunnel and into their team bus. Head coach Bashir Hayford told Asempa FM the team was not informed about medals at the press launching but were told on pitch side on matchday. The decision not to take the medal only adds to the dented image of the league which has been ridiculed by many. While the FA have to take part of the blame for their poor organization and administration of the state of the league, the clubs will also have to be blamed. Such poor showing by one of the oldest clubs in the league is inflicting more wounds to the image of Ghana football. Will they walk off the pitch if they feel robbed in their Champions League encounter in Algeria?  The institutions governing football in the country have subjected themselves to low standards hence this show of attitude. A heavy fine or ban would have been slapped on the Miners in a normal instance. Ashantigold is not and will not be the first team to feel robbed in a cup final and they must be off better behavior in subsequent Ghanaian competitions.

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