Hearts of Oak, Ghana’s sole contenders in Africa were given a ruthless reception on the pitch today as they came up against AS Bamako of Mali. Kumasi Asante Kotoko, winners of Ghana’s league and representatives in the CAF Champions league have already exited the competition after losing out to Kadiogo of Burkina Faso. Many expected Hearts of Oak to do better by at least managing a draw or losing with less goals in the first leg of the Caf Confederation’s Cup.
Hearts entered the game in a rather bad shape as they have seen a number of losses in the league. Again Hearts went into the game having terminated the contract of coach Boadu. The new assistant coach was expected to lead the team. In a first half that saw Hearts hardly stringing their passes together, the team got punished.
By the first half, Heats were down by two goals. This wasn’t surprising because the team went down by the 10 minute of the game. Many expected an improved play from the team in the second half but this didn’t materialize as the game resumed with the Malians getting a third goal. Hearts could barely get a grasp on the game as the sparse crowd applauded their players. Probably, the supporters even didn’t anticipate such mauling but Hearts gave it to the Malians on a silver platter.
The game ended with AS Bamako carrying the day with 3 goals. It could have been more with even the referee giving penalties against the Ghanaian side. Hearts will have to return to the drawing board and hope that they can overturn the results in Accra. It looks like a daunting task because the team itself looks tattered.
Hearts of Oak will need to put this major disappointment behind them if they hope to qualify. It looks mission impossible as Hearts need 4 clear goals. Time will tell if they can repeat the magic they did against St. George. Can Hearts qualify?
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