Ghana Premier League: Black Stars defender Simpson powers Nations to important win over Hearts
- Adamu Muftawu
- Apr 3
- 2 min read
A ferocious strike by Ghana Black Stars defender Razak Simpson gave Nations FC all three points against Hearts of Oak on Thursday afternoon.
It was the 2000 CAF Champions League winners who controlled the first fifteen minutes of the first half, smothering the Nations midfield and stringing passes predominantly along the wings but struggling to translate those incursions into goals.
The visitors however stayed calm, capitalizing on sloppy defending by Hearts of Oak defender Kelvin Osei Asibey but Faisal Charwetey’s strike rattled the cross bar on the 24th minute much to the relief of the 2004 CAF Confederation Cup winners.
An incident of poor communication from Hearts goalkeeper, Kwesi Nketia and Kelvin Osei Asibey ensued, which nearly gave Nations FC the opener but the chance missed the post by a fraction, keeping the game at goalless on the 26th minutes. The Phobians came a bit closer to scoring however, Mawuli Wayo’s strike from a solo move missed Nations FC’s post by inches with 33 minutes into the game.
Hearts of Oak came into the second half looking good in terms of efforts at scoring with Afriyie Boateng’s header coming against the cross bar and Abdul Aziz’s rebound header going over the bar. A perfect scoring opportunity fell the way of Mawuli Wayo who needed just a tap-in for the opener but he fluffed the chance much to the disappointment of the team’s following.
The visitors kept their composure which paid off when a poor clearance by Hearts of Oak defence, fell the way of Black Stars defender, Razak Simpson who powered from 45-yards to beat goalkeeper Kwesi Nketia for Nations FC’s opener on the 65th minute. The visitors were dealt a huge blow when Simpson was pulled out of the game through an injury.
The Kumasi based club turned the heat on the 2001 CAF Super Cup winners, producing multiple attempts at goal with their keeper Rabin Sanon equally keeping the home side at bay with some brilliant saves. The solitary strike from Razak Simpson ended up separating the two sides.
Nations FC jump into 4th on the league table on 39 points from 24 games, displacing Medeama into 5th and Hearts of Oak dropping into 6th on 37 points. Asante Kotoko stay top on 45 points, two better than Gold Stars. Heart of Lions are 3rd on the log on 40 points.
Week 21 Results
Tuesday April 1
Gold Stars 2-1 Heart of Lions
Medeama 2-1 Holy Stars
Wednesday April 2nd
Aduana Stars 2-2 Young Apostles
Kotoko 1-0 Berekum Chelsea
Dreams 1-0 Bechem
Karela 2-0 Legon Cities
Vision 3-2 Samartex
Thursday, April 3
Hearts of Oak 0-1 Nations FC
League Table (Top-5)
Points | |
Asante Kotoko | 45 |
Bibiani GoldStars | 44 |
Heart of Lions | 40 |
Nations FC | 39 |
Medeama | 38 |
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