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Football

GPL: Five talking points from matchday 5

Kosta Papic

Ashgold and Kotoko clinched their first victories of the campaign. Hearts made a statement with a comfortable win over Dreams and Karela maintained top spot with a home victory over King Faisal on matchday 5.

Here are the five talking points;

Legon Cities troubles continue

Five matchdays, zero wins. The sad story of Legon Cities, a club that made waves during the transfer window with the acquisition of Asamoah Gyan and other highly-rated local players such as Mathew Anim Cudjoe.

Asamoah Gyan has not scored in three games

Gyan has been given substitute appearances since the start of the season and Cudjoe is unavailable due to WAFU Zone B tournament commitment with the Black Satellites.

On Friday, they lost 1-0 to Kotoko, a team that had struggled to hold on to leads in prior matchdays.

The Royals once again showed their two key problems so far, their struggle to score goals and the lack of a strong backline to avoid conceding goals.

Without the heroics of Fatau Dauda, the Accra-based side would have conceded more. Currently, they have conceded five goals in five games (1 goal per game) and netted just once (0.2 goals per game). They are rock bottom in the league standings as well.

It is also interesting to note that Legon Cities have failed to earn a win in their last 29 away league games.

Bashir Hayford certainly has a huge task ahead of him in the coming weeks.

Kotoko, Ashgold earn first wins of the season

Ahead of the weekend, the table showed victories for some clubs but in the case of Kotoko and Ashgold, none were recorded.

The Miners had witnessed a pair of 2-2 draws against Karela and Hearts whilst Kotoko surrendered one-goal leads to Eleven Wonders and Berekum Chelsea.

Both teams are highly regarded in the country so their results were deemed disappointing.

After engaging in continental duties, both teams have registered their first victories of the campaign.

Ibrahim Osman scored the lone goal for the Porcupine Warriors against Legon Cities and Ashgold earned a 4-2 victory over Elmina Sharks. Dacosta Boadu stole the show with a brace.

The results will no doubt boost the confidence of both teams as they seek dominance this season and beyond.

Hearts of Oak make statement with resounding win

Hearts of Oak seemingly had a dark cloud hanging over them coming into matchday 5.

The club had changed managers, lost seven points from a possible nine in three matches (2D 1L) and endured their worst league start in 34 years.

From the perspective of fans and neutrals, the Phobians needed a win to reduce the tension. They did so in impressive fashion.

The team showed better creativity and ruthless finishing against Dreams at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.

Michelle Sarpong's brace and Kojo Obeng Junior's strike ensured a 3-0 victory for the Accra-based side.

Kosta Papic will no doubt be excited with the result and the team would aim to add more wins to their column as they seek to clinch their first trophy in 11 years.

Karela stay top for third consecutive week

Last season, Karela United were one of the worst teams in the league.

The Ayinase-based side had amassed just 11 points before the league's cancellation and its fair to say that they were not fancied as potential contenders this season.

Maybe the disappointment from last season fuelled their resurgence.

Karela surprisingly moved to the summit of the table on matchday 3 and have maintained the spot with no defeat recorded. King Faisal were their latest victim, beating them 2-0.

Karela possess a solid defensive record, conceding three goals in five matches (0.6 goals per game).

They have also been deadly going forward, netting seven goals. Only WAFA and Ashgold (8 each) have netted more so far.

Karela might just have the needed quality to win the league title.

More away wins

Bechem United's 2-1 win over Inter Allies in Accra was one of the away wins recorded on matchday 5

Before matchday four, the Ghanaian top-flight had yet to record a single away win.

After matchday five, the competition has recorded three victories away from home. WAFA ended the drought with a 1-0 result against Eleven Wonders on matchday 4.

On Saturday, two more wins were recorded. Medeama travelled to Cape Coast and came out with a 1-0 win over Ebusua Dwarfs.

Bechem United were also successful in their travels, recording a 2-1 victory over Inter Allies at the Accra Sports Stadium.

Although away wins are still not enough, the steady rise in the figure will surely be a confidence booster for all teams.

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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.