Kwadwo Obeng Junior strike against Nsoatreman FC give Hearts of Oak win in Ghana Premier League return
A second half strike from Kwadwo Obeng Junior aided Hearts of Oak to record third away win of the 2022/23 Ghana Premier League season against newbies Nsoatreman FC at the Nana Kronmansah Park.
Hearts of Oak inflicted a painful 1-0 home defeat on Nsoatreman FC in their match-week nine encounter in Nsoatre on Tuesday afternoon.
Hearts of Oak entered the fixture without their five key players namely Daniel Afriyie Barnieh, Dennis Korsah, Suraj Seidu, Gladson Awako and Konadu Yiadom following their unavailability due to international assignment with the Black Galaxies.
The early minutes of the game looked balanced with Hearts of Oak possession the ball in their half with no threat of goal scoring. Nsoatreman FC had the golden opportunity after the half-hour mark through Yakubu Mohammed but he headed it wide.
Hearts of Oak came close on the stroke of halftime but goalkeeper Daniel Afadzwu fisted out a header from Zakaria Yakubu before making another brilliant save to deny Gideon Asante from opening the score before the break.
The Phobians enjoyed majority of the ball possession in the first half but they failed to make it count upfront as it ended in a scoreless draw.
Back from the break, Coach Slavko Matic made a tactical substitution with the introduction of Caleb Amankwah and Glid Jeordon Otanga as replacements for Zakaria Yakubu and Isaac Mensah.
Hearts of Oak continued their dominance over the home side to stage an intense pressure on the back line to concede before the hour-mark mark.
On the 54th minute, Kwadwo Obeng Junior opened the score for the Phobians after making a good use of a goalkeeper Daniel Afadzwu’s blunder.
Duo Gideon Asante and Kwadwo Obeng Junior kept tormenting the defense of Nsoatreman FC with the hopes of increasing the tally but their strikes went off target.
Nsoatreman FC tried their lucks in the dying embers with some fearsome attacks but none of their efforts earned them the equalizer as the fixture ended in a 1-0 win for Hearts of Oak.
Following the results, Hearts of Oak have moved up to the second spot on the Ghana Premier League table after nine games while Nsoatreman FC occupies 9th position with 13 points.
