• Nurudeen Abdulai – Medeama’s centre-back
The penultimate round of matches for the 2022-23 betPawa Ghana Premier League (GPL) season will take centre-stage this weekend with Medeama requiring just a win to be crowned champions.
With four points ahead of second placed Aduana Stars and just two games to go, the Mauve and Yellow will square off with seventh-placed Samartex at the Nsenkyire Sports Arena tomorrow in a bid to secure the first ever league title.
The champagne would be on ice as the Tarkwa lads head into the game beaming with confidence ahead of the historic feat and its accompanying funfair.
Medeama came back from a goal down to beat King Faisal 2-1 in their last encounter and would attempt to avoid another dramatic comeback, especially playing away from home to a very resilient side.
They hope to go all out to ‘kill the game’ and hold on to the title ahead of their final game against Tamale City which would only serve commemorative purposes.
Samartex, on the other hand, had already secured their place in elite football for next season and would only be playing for pride and attempt to spoil the party for Medeama.
A win for Samartex move them above the table as they attempt to end the season amongst the top six teams in their first season in the premiership.
That would also be a historic feat for Samartex which they would fancy as they expect their vociferous fans to troop to the venue to ‘torment’ their visitors.
In other crucial games to be played tomorrow, Aduana travel to Nsoatre to face off with Nsoatreman in a must-win fixture for the visitors.
Aduana must secure all three points and hope for an upset in the Medeama and Samartex game to push the season to a dramatic grand finale.
Nsoatreman would also be desperate for all three points to cement their place in elite football next season as they are only three points above Karela in the relegation zone.
Karela, on the other hand, will host fourth placed Bibiani Gold Stars as they attempt to secure the remaining six points to possibly rise above the relegation zone.
Third-placed Bechem United host Berekum Chelsea in another cagey encounter at Bechem, while struggling Accra Hearts of Oak engage Real Tamale United (RTU) at the Accra Sports Stadium – determined to end the season on a high note.
Relegated Kotoku Royals play against Tamale City in another interesting fixture tomorrow, while another relegation-threatened King Faisal face off with Legon Cities today.
In other games today, Accra Great Olympics would also be desperate for all three points as they battle it out with Dreams FC at Dawu, while Accra Lions square off with Kumasi Asante Kotoko in another mouth-watering fixture in Accra.
By Michael D. Abayateye