Karela threaten Olympics’ unbeaten run
Accra Great Olympics’ unbeaten run in the four-week-old betPawa Ghana Premier League will come under threat tomorrow when they visit the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale to face Karela United.
Great Olympics is one of the four teams yet to lose a game in the league.
But Karela, after holding Kotoko, are poised to add another traditional club to their victims they pluck points from, as they set out to compete fiercely for this season’s title.
In the last three seasons, Karela United has managed a single home win against the ‘Dade Boys’ with the other two ending even.
Those games were played at the Crosby Awuah Memorial Park but having moved their home games to the Aliu Mahama Stadium, Coach Ibrahim Tanko Shaibu believes the Olympics near dominance over his side would end at the new home.
“We’ll ‘finish’ them. There is no way Olympics will survive. We will beat them,” he stated after his side held Asante Kotoko to a 1-1 draw in Kumasi on Sunday.
With a win, draw, and a loss in their last three games, Coach Shaibu is bent on picking his second win of the season.
Still basking in the glory of holding Kotoko away, Olympics may just have to be strong and determined if they hope to maintain their unbeaten run.
Olympics have lacked consistency in their games, failing to win when the odds seem to be in their favour; a situation their followers have not been happy with.
After failing to kick-start their season on a winning note against Tano Bofoakwa, a game that ended goalless at the Accra Sports Stadium and seeing the visitors enjoying greater parts of the exchanges, Olympics were destined to fall in their second game against Heart of Lions at Sogakope.
But at their wondrous best, they held their own against the Premier League returnees to pick a point.
Against a Goldstars side that had upset Kotoko the week before, the Wonder Club earned a lone goal victory to record five points from a possible nine to place at the top ranks of the table.
It would surely be a cracker between two clubs trying to build up the points to avoid the usual relegation dog-fight with Karela as slight favourites but Olympics have the tendency to perform when the odds are against them.
Just as they secured points at Sogakope against the Lions, Oly can spring another surprise against Karela United.
Today at the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park in Bechem, Bechem United will take on Medeama SC with the aim of picking their second win in the four-week-old league.
Bechem United has won two of their last three home games against the Tarkwa lads – a 4-0 and 1-0 wins in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Playing at home again, the agenda would be to make it a hat-trick of victories against the high-flying Medeama side that have booked a place in the group stages of the on-going CAF Champions League competition.
Medeama lie bottom of the log with a point from two games, having been excused from their last game, due to their involvement in Africa.
Head Coach Evans Adotey says having achieved what they set out for in Africa, their focus would now shift to the league and make sure they climb up the log, beginning today.
At the Accra Sports Stadium tomorrow, Accra Hearts of Oak welcome Dreams FC with the Phobian fans clamouring for nothing but a win for their beloved club.
Hearts have recorded just a win in three match days, an outcome that has angered the fans.
They have not hidden their indignation from Coach Martin Koopman who now faces a difficult task to end the club’s poor run.
Koopman may have given the Phobians a false hope after scoring the highest number of goals during pre-season.
With the new club culture of playing recovery games, Hearts have scored over 40 goals in non-competitive matches but strangely, they have lost those scoring boots in the league and would need to rediscover it.
If not, the high-flying Dreams FC side that just qualified for the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup may be a thorn in their flesh as they engage them in the presence of their home fans.
In other games, Nsoatreman FC will clash with FC Samartex at the Nana Koramansah Sports Complex in Nsoatre.
Nations FC would play Legom Cities at the Dr Kwame Kyei Sports Complex in what promises to be an exciting encounter following the determination of the debutant to stay above water in their premier season.
Coming from a defeat in the hands of Great Olympics in Accra, Bibiani Goldstars would return to the Dun’s Park to welcome Real Tamale United in what they see as a do-or-die affair.
The WAFA Park in Sogakope will witness the clash of the returnee clubs Hearts of Lions and Bofoakwa Tano.
On Monday, Accra Lions will be seeking to protect their unbeaten run when they host Kumasi Asante Kotoko at the Accra Sports Stadium.
By Raymond Ackumey