Match Report: Hearts of Oak 3-2 Tamale City as Caleb Amankwa late strike seals Phobia late victory
Caleb Amankwa late (86th minute) strike send Hearts of Oak to their fifth win of the season as they moved to second place on the 2022/23 Ghana Premier League log.
A second half dominance aided Hearts of Oak to record a 3-2 home win over Premier League newbies Tamale City in their match-week eleven encounter at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium.
The Phobians commenced the fixture on a good note but they were unlucky upfront in the early minutes despite enjoying majority of the game possession.
Skipper Ibrahim Salifu came close to open the score for Hearts of Oak on the 14th minute with an audacious strike from Amankwah Baafi’s rebound but his strike was denied by the post.
Hearts of Oak kept tormenting the back line of the visitors to snatch the lead via a spot-kick after Gideon Asante Yeboah was found on the half-hour mark by Levitius Arthur.
Talented midfielder Ibrahim Salifu brilliantly converted the spot-kick to give Hearts of Oak a deserving lead on the 33rd minute of the game.
Tamale City responded quickly in just two minutes of conceding in the same fashion of a spot-kick after Mohammed Yahaya was fouled by Robert Addo Sowah in the 18-yard after an awful clearance.
Winger Isaac Mensah elected himself to level the score for Tamale City after striking the ball firmly into the back of goalkeeper Richmond Ayi’s net.
Tamale City trio Godknows Dzapkazu, Sampson Eduku and Isaac Mensah kept piling up pressure on the defense of Hearts of Oak to make basic errors as they were in search for another goal before the end of the first half.
Eventually, Sampson Eduku registered his name on the score sheet for Tamale City with a powerful header via a cross delivered by Mensah on the 40th minute of the game.
The first half of the game ended in a 2-1 win for Tamale City at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium.
In the second half, Hearts of Oak found the equalizer few seconds after the commencement of the game through Benjamin Yorke.
Yorke gave the Phobians a sigh of relief with his strike on the 46th minute after connecting a strike from Amankwah Baafi.
Assistant coach David Ocloo, who was in the dugout following the unavailability of Serbian coach Slavko Matic due to medical reasons, made a tactical substitution with the introduction of Yassan Ouatching, Glid Jeordon Otanga and Isaac Mensah.
The introduction of the trio made a significant impact on Hearts of Oak which eventually resulted the match-winner in the dying embers of the game.
A fine strike from Caleb Amankwah on the 86th minute was enough to secure them all the needed points to return to winning ways after losing to Bechem United at the same venue last weekend.
Hearts of Oak will make a trip to Kumasi to battle it out with King Faisal while Tamale City host last season’s champions Asante Kotoko on match-day 12 in Tamale.
