Sunday’s defeat to Asante Kotoko was painful to Hearts fans chiefly because it was the fourth consecutive loss to the enemy and the fourth in the last six meetings in the league.

Emotions aside, Hearts fans would be hurt because Aboubakar Ouattara, the surgeon who told the world that his patient would require an emergency, open-cut surgery, has not been able to do his job, ten months after entering the operating room.

Hearts still look completely disfigured when in possession, and without a sense of direction.
Beyond Hussein Mohammed’s ability to carry the ball forward and Hamza Issah’s capacity to feed on crumbs, Hearts do not have much in terms of attacking threat.

Hearts are yet to find consistency in the ongoing season

There are no choreographed attacking plays or standout players.

The most damning characteristic of Ouattara’s iteration of Hearts of Oak is their attempt to press. It is not only uncoordinated but funny and borderline criminal.

Against Kotoko on Sunday, Hearts of Oak’s defensive line was unusually high, prompting suggestions that they would press high up the pitch; as is the norm when teams are deployed in such manner.

But this was Ouattara. Very few of his decisions make sense. In the end, their inertia to press allowed Kotoko to pick out Albert Amoah and Saaka Dauda’s runs, time without number. By the end of the first half, Kotoko had created four chances from such turnovers.

In his patch comments, Ouattara said ‘‘there's no coach in this league who doesn't want to win the league. We have played 13 matches out of 34’’.

The last line is instructive. Despite their inconsistencies, the Phobians are still within two matches of league leaders, Kpando Heart of Lions. With twenty-one matches to go, there is still enough time for Ouattara to rescue the ship that has lost its bearings.

For that to happen, Ouattara needs to coach the team out of its bad habits. He needs to fix the team’s inability to sustain possession and build meaningful attacks.

Hearts coach Aboubakar Ouattara

There is also the small matter of his in-game management. Having coached for more than thirty years, it is disappointing that Ouattara has consistently proven incapable of making the right tweaks in real-game scenarios.

Perhaps the easiest part of Ouattara’s job should be the future of Kelvin Osei-Asibey. Whatever you say about the center-back’s potential, the facts are that he is an error-prone player. Worse still, he has made a habit of making these errors in high-profile games.

Sunday’s mistakes, the second of which resulted in the match winner, was the fourth consecutive error directly leading to a goal, in four matches against Kotoko.

If Ouattara does not tolerate mediocrity, Osei-Asibey should not be close to his starting line-up for the foreseeable future.  

On Friday, Hearts face a Berekum Chelsea team led by Samuel Boadu, the man who delivered the Phobians last silverware.

Hearts fans would remember him fondly after he won the domestic treble; league, F.A Cup, and the Champion of Champions in the 2020-21 season and the F.A Cup in the 2022/23 season.

Flashback: Samuel Boadu celebrates his second F.A. Cup with hearts in 2022 after a 2-1 comeback win over Berekum Chelsea

Boadu was hired by Chelsea in March 2024, a month after Ouattara’s appointment.

In the fifteen matches that followed, Boadu won 21 points and finished the season in fourth place, with 51 points overall.

This term, Boadu’s men have won four matches, drawn six, and lost three times.

Stephen Amankona’s five goals constitute 45% of the club's eleven goals this season.

Boadu’s men have also let in nine goals, four fewer than matches played. Curiously, only a third of the goals they have conceded have been recorded on their travels.

It is therefore not surprising that they have only won one away match; a 1-0 win over Nations F.C. last month.

While that may be worrying, Friday’s adversaries are not exactly great at home. The Phobians have failed to score in three home matches, with two of them ending in defeats; a 1-0 loss to Bibiani Gold Stars in October and before that, a 1-0 defeat to debutants Holy Stars on the opening weekend of the season.

In front of goal, both teams are remarkably skint in front of the goal. Of the six home matches played, Hearts have only scored four goals, while Chelsea have recorded only two goals in six away matches.

Despite their struggles in recent seasons, the Phobians are unbeaten in the last five meetings with Berekum Chelsea.

Hearts have won twice while the remaining matches have ended in stalemates.

If these numbers are anything to go by, Friday’s fixture should be another low-scoring game with the Phobians having a slight advantage.