The Ashesi Premier League got underway last Saturday, 9^th February 2019 at the Berekuso Park.

The Stinging Sabotage of the Red Ants

In what ensued as a thrilling opening fixture, last season's winners Red Army faced Elite FC. The Red Ants were beaten four goals to one. Elite, headed by the second female coach of the league's history - Nana Ama. Losing their title-winning coach and half of their first team in the transfer window, Red Army was looking out of sorts before the season opener. It was the same for Elites, star forward Muhammed Jammeh made his return to the league in a bid to secure the title this year. A clash of two clubs who share a history of trophies was set to light up the opening matchday.

Muhammed Jammeh signaled his return to the APL with a bang as he added Elites’ second with a swerving free-kick that would make Cristiano Ronaldo proud.  Goals from Timothy and Yaw Mpeani and a late penalty from Muhammed Jammeh to secure a brace saw Elites start their season off with a very impressive win over last season’s champions.

Red Army’s new Coach Frederick Charway didn’t get an easy introduction into the league but the performances of his new Young recruits were the shining light of the fixture.

The North Remembers

The second game of matchday 1 was a battle of the prodigal sons. The coaches of either team had tactically bought experienced players over the transfer window - and this indeed made this fixture a spectacle. Northside FC, the youngest team in the league, faced the team from which they were borne - Highlanders. Northside had a strengthened its midfield and defense with the likes of the Dzine brothers and reinforced further its attack with the APL's dangerous pair - Philip and Maison.

Highlanders did not fail to prove a worthy competition as the team’s coach Amankwah had signed Dari Jones, Mettle and Arthur - all from the camp of Red Army, among others.

The opening minutes of the match saw Highlanders as a more threatening force but just before the first half ended; the dangerous pair pulled a brace for their side as Philip fought hard to possess the ball on the wings and gave a tailor-measured pass to Maison to tap in the only goal of the game.

The rest of the match was filled with end-to-end action with both teams going in for the kill. The second half ended with seven (7) minutes of injury time because of long stoppages in play and time wasting. In the end, Highlanders failed to beat their rivals for the second time in two seasons.

Coach Bunyan starts his campaign off with a win and Highlanders have to go back to the drawing board before their LOL clash in two weeks.

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