Troubled Hearts of Oak will hope to put a torrid 2015 behind them as they begin 2016 with the First Trust G6 tournament.

The Phobians face Aduana in the opening Group B fixture in search of a win to calm the nerves amongst their fans who were deprived joy last year.

Despite being only pre-season, new coach Kenichi Yatsuhashi is already under pressure to save his job after the Phobians lost all three games under him scoring just one and conceding nine.

There has been much unrest in the Phobian camp with fans clamouring for quality signings after their unfruitful trip to Libya. The few players the club signed, have seen their contracts terminated after being termed sub-standard by the Japanese-American trainer.

Fans are even more incensed by the fact the club failed to attract big name targets such as Stephen Adams, Latif Salifu, Kennedy Ashia and Ernest Sowah.

Despite these mishaps, Yatsuhashi is still confident his team can come good.

“It is a difficult period I understand for everyone. There are a lot of uncertainty and questions arising but I am sure we can unite and move forward,” Kenichi told Joy Sports.

The Phobians will look to old faces Robin Gnagne, Sarbah Laryea and Foovi Aguidi to lead them to cup glory.

Their opponents, Aduana Stars, have on the other hand enjoyed a smooth build up to this tournament.

The Dormaa side have gone about their business in a quiet but effective fashion keeping hold of their key players as well as beefing up their squad with quality players such as keeper Joseph Addo and winger Richard Mpong from Kotoko, Yahaya Mohammed, defender Stephen Anokye Badu and attacking midfielder Noah Martey.

CEO of the club Albert Commey has stated the importance of the competition as his side look to cause an upset and win the G6 tournament.

“This is an important tournament. We are playing the best in the country which includes league and cup champions.” Commey told Joy Sports.

Aduana beat Hearts 1-0 in the last meeting between both clubs at Dormaa and will hope for a repeat performance.

Medeama complete the teams in Group B and both teams will play the Tarkwa side in the coming days.

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