Accra Hearts of Oak have issued an apology to their fans after they suffered a 3-0 defeat to AS Real Bamako of Mali in the first leg of the preliminary CAF Confederation Cup qualifying round.

The Phobians were comprehensively beaten in the Malian capital, and will need to win by a 4 goal margin in the return leg on Saturday in Accra to progress to the next round.

After the game, the Ghana FA Cup champions took to twitter to send an apology to their fans.

"We sincerely apologize for the loss. We will work extra hard to put smiles on the faces of all Phobians. We are grateful to our fans who came to support us against Real Bamako. To our fans back home we say thank you as well. We never say die"

Hearts of Oak host the return leg encounter in Accra on 15th October, 2022.