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Football

GPL: Five talking points from matchday 16

Joseph Esso (number 10) scored a hat-trick as Dreams beat Ashgold 4-1

Hearts of Oak clinched a laboured win over Liberty Professionals, WAFA dispatched Karela United and Dreams gave AshantiGold a thorough beating in the Ghana Premier League.

Here are the five talking points from matchday 16:

Dreams FC prove recent form is no fluke

After suffering a 1-0 defeat to Berekum Chelsea on matchday 15, doubts started creeping in about Dreams FC's top-four ambitions.

A win was needed against AshantiGold to instil belief. The Still Believe boys responded with a 4-1 pummeling of AshantiGold in Dawu on Thursday.

Joseph Esso was the star of the show, netting a hat-trick. The former Hearts of Oak forward is now the second player to reach 10 league goals this season.

Dreams have been really strong in 2021, winning six of their last 10 league games (W6 D3 L1). They have also won each of their last five home matches.

With a third-place spot at this moment, Dreams can be confident of finishing in the top-four for the first time.

Hans Kwofie may be Legon Cities’ main catalyst for survival

At the start of the campaign, Legon Cities were struggling to find the back of the net. The transfer of Asamoah Gyan was not reaping rewards in part to fitness issues.

Seeing this problem, the Royals acquired striker Hans Kwofie from AshantiGold. The 31-year-old has been great since, scoring on his debut and following it up with a double against Elmina Sharks.

Kwofie has now netted eight league goals for AshantiGold and Legon Cities in 10 matches this season; an impressive tally for the former Puchong Fuerza man.

His goals have helped Legon Cities to go four points clear of the relegation zone and are making a good case for a mid-table spot.

It is early days for Kwofie but his impressive start indicates the need for the club to trust him more.

Medeama doing what fans expected all along

Before the 2020/21 campaign commenced, Medeama were tipped favourites to clinch their first ever league title.

However, the Mauve and Yellows started rather slowly, winning just one of their first seven league games.

After the 5-4 defeat to WAFA, Medeama have turned things around with six victories in nine games.

Their upturn in form has seen the side climb to fourth on the log and are just two points behind table toppers Karela United.

Unfortunately, head coach Samuel Boadu has left the club, leaving a hole in their technical area. If they find the right replacement, the Tarkwa-based side will have a good chance to win it all.

WAFA are unstoppable at home

So far, five out of the 18 competing teams are yet to taste defeat at home this season. This means that 27.78% of the competitors are doing a good job on their turf.

One of those teams is WAFA who has the third best record in the league at home with 18 points.

The Academy boys netted three against league leaders Karela, showing their penchant for scoring in Sogakope.

They have netted 21 goals at home this season, two more than the next best team. 10 goals have been conceded as well which shows the need to improve defensively.

It will likely not be a cause for concern for the coach as the wins continue.

Isaac Mensah carrying Hearts on his young shoulders

Hearts of Oak are one of the biggest clubs in the country and any player who features for them is under immense pressure to perform.

Isaac Mensah, 18, likely experienced the same pressure when he was trusted by Samuel Nii Noi to play against Ebusua Dwarfs.

In the dying embers of the game on matchday 15, he found the net to give Hearts of Oak a crucial victory.

Three days later, he scored the winner in a 1-0 result against Liberty Professionals. It shows he has fully arrived.

He may not play in every game for the team in the future but the forward is fast becoming a fan favourite.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.