Accra Hearts of Oak has had a lot of great players in its 109-year existence. But not many come close to this man who went by the name Robert Hammond.
Hammond would have been 70-years-old on 5th May, however the Hearts legend joined his ancestors three years ago on this day, 30th May 2017, in the United States.
I did not see or watch Hammond play for Hearts; I was not even born when he led the Phobians to the final of the 1979 Africa Club Champions Cup. All I have heard has come from those he played with and those who watched him play. And yet, he keeps popping up in whatever old newspaper, magazine or book I have come across; and it’s not that his name is an appurtenance being trudged but he’s the cynosure — be it good or not too good.
It’s only once did I see his name in the bad book (if I can call a red card a bad book). Hammond, together with Seth Ampadu, was sent off for protesting against the home side’s equalizer, in a league match against Kotoko in 1978, leaving Hearts with 9-men, who against all the odds went on to miraculously win the game 2-1 in Kumasi, thanks to a late belter from Douglas Tagoe.
What do you do when your name and reputation has been dragged in Ghana’s biggest game? Hammond would serve the Hearts faithfuls with the answer in 1979 putting up a stellar performance and capping it with the only goal of the game as the Phobians beat Asante Kotoko in the league at the Accra Sports Stadium. Zero-to-Hero
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In 1981, Hearts were on the verge of winning the FA CUP finals but a late mistake from Hammond ensured that Abedi Pele’s Real Tamale United had a lifeline, which they gleefully took advantage of and forced a replay at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Guess who stepped up again for Hearts? Robert Hammond. He was the villain a few days prior but he became the hero and cynosure as his lone goal over RTU helped Hearts to her fourth FA CUP win.
This was what made Robert Hammond, Robert Hammond. A man who could fall to the bottomless pit in one minute and rise to the very highest apogee the next second.
Hammond’s Hearts career was not only a matter of rise and fall. There were so many highs for the mercurial star and one time the most expensive player in Ghana football. In the mid-70s, Hearts had to break the bank and snatch him back from their city rivals Accra Great Olympics. He came at the cost of ONE-THOUSAND-GHANA-CEDIS. This might look small today but it’s huge back in the day.
Hammond did not disappoint. He won the league four times with Hearts. The FA CUP three times. And twice he played in the finals of the Africa Club Champions Cup in 1977 and 1979. He scored four goals in the Africa Club series in 1977 including the away goal in far away Zambia and what had been the ephemeral equalizer in the finals against Hafia Conakry.
He’s captain and leader when Hearts lost 5-4 on penalties to Union Doula in 1979.
Robert Hammond played across all the midfield (and attacking) positions for Hearts. He’s a star of the “Fearsome Fivesome” squad of Hearts. He’s Mr. Versatile (ambidextrous footballer). He’s also Mr. Expensive. But more importantly, Robert Hammond is one of the greatest players to have ever played for Accra Hearts of Oak.
Opoku Afriyie is no more. Born on the 2nd February, 1955; died on the 29th March, 2020. Footballer, striker, and two-time Ghana Premier League top-scorer.
He made his name with Kotoko but his short stint with Hearts of Oak in the mid-80s would never be forgotten, not just for what he accomplished on the field of play, but how he showed Hearts the “light” off the field.
“Businessman”, “Bayie”, “Ayen”, had been his monikers during his heydays with Kotoko but he’s christened “Nii Opoku” after he helped Hearts to her first league win in five years in 1984.
The former Kotoko captain had been a thorn-in-the-flesh of the Phobians. He scored in the 0-3 and 3-0 Kotoko victories over Hearts in 1980 and 1981 respectively, but his first goal against the Phobians came in May 1975 in a 2-0 home league win for the Porcupines.
Opoku Afriyie was deemed surplus to requirement at the end of the 1982 season by the management of Kotoko. But he was thrown a life-line by Hearts in 1984 by the Seth Abadji administration, having spent a whole year without playing football. And it would proved to be a chef d’œuvres come the end of the season.
“Nii Opoku” started his football by playing for Kumasi Hearts Babies Colts team, at the tender age of 10, and despite his relationship with Kotoko, for whom he won countless trophies, incidentally ended it by finishing his career with the Phobians.
A royal by birth, Opoku Afriyie hated anything that had to do with winning unfairly. A fair man, Afriyie dared the Hearts management to drop some key players (whose name I wouldn’t want to mention) ahead of a titanic league clash with Kotoko in Kumasi, on the pretext that they had been compromised.
Management listened. And Hearts won 0-1 courtesy of Joe Amoateng’s lone strike. But it’s not just the win that turned the tide for Hearts. It’s the eye opening revelation that made the Phobians sit up ahead of matches with Kotoko.
Prior to his coming, Hearts had lost five out of seven consecutive league meetings with Kotoko (0-3, 1-1, 0-1, 2-0, 3-0, 0-2, 3-4*) in the 80s.
But thanks to Bayie’s clairvoyance, Hearts stopped recording 3-0 and 0-3 margins of defeats against their arch-rivals in the league.
Opoku Afriyie changed the thinking of a whole club. He made his name with Kotoko but he made the biggest single influence on Hearts when it came to matches involving the two rivals. He sparked a mini revolution that lasts till this day.
This single selfless gesture I come to celebrate. And at the same time mourn the passing of one of Ghana football’s fine gentlemen.
Goal-scorer, top-scorer, revolutionary, Nii Opoku, sleep well, your highness.
[Opoku Afriyie, son of Nana Kofi Poku, Oyokohene of Kumasi, and Madam ABENA Mansah, Hearts of Oak is grateful].
Exactly a decade ago, when Hearts beat South African giants Santos FC in Cape Town in the CAF Confederation Cup, a lifelong Santos fan, Shaun October Mason, then only 14 years old watched as Bernard Dong Bortey’s goal from his own half gifted the Phobians a first victory on their first trip to the land of Nelson Mandela.
Life, being so unpredictable, has brought the boy who watched Hearts for the first time with his Dad at the Athlone Stadium, into the camp of the Rainbow Club from the Rainbow Nation as a man.
And just like Hearts’ smash-and-grab victory in 2004, Shaun October has weaved his way into the heart of Hearts fans since pitching camp for a trial on the 12th June, 2014 under recommendation from ex-Black Stars and former Santos FC player John Paintsil.
Shaun October has boyish looks and a slightly effeminate mannerisms without the ball, but once he is in action, the debonair outward appearance gives way to a stylish, energetic, effective, and composed footballer of the Brazilian ilk.
Hearts fans are connoisseurs of the beautiful game by virtue of their innate nous to recognize a good player and they have warmly received Shaun October Mason. The South African has taken more applauses from the ATTC training grounds Park of the Phobians than any other player since he began training with the club.
October has bamboozled his admirers and critics in equal measure, and even the technical team have not been left out of the Shaun October stupefaction. Initially purchased as a defender, he has been moved to the left-side of midfield, and at times as part of the striking trio in a 4-3-3 formation due to his versatility.
In the beginning, there were doubts he could not perform in the Ghanaian game due to his outward calm, benign and composed nature, but he has torn those doubts down to shreds, making up his lack of strength with his superb range of passing, tackling intelligence, and set-piece technique.
Shaun October has scored twice for Hearts in friendly games – none inside the 18-yard box – and numerous assists.
The 24-year old has slowly established himself as an important cog in Coach Herbert Addo’s team for the 2014/15 season.
The former Santos FC youngster opened up on his new surrounding, his ambitions and targets, and a whole lot more in this Exclusive interview. Read more below:
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: Who is Shaun October Mason?
Shaun October: Mason October is a normal guy from a normal family in a normal town in Cape Town – where I was born. I went to school in Strandfontein High, in the Mitchells plane area in South Africa. Ever since I started growing up, I just wanted to be a footballer. Whilst I was in school, my father pushed me to pursue my academics, but I just knew one day I would be a professional footballer. I even got a scholarship to go to America to study at Michigan College, but I turned it down to play [football] for Santos FC.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: Did your family agree with your decision to play football instead of going to school?
Shaun October: The decision was basically up to me and my dad. Whatever I decided, he was going to support me. So if I chose academics, he would support me, and so would my mum. Whatever I chose, they were going to support me, and I chose football.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: How many siblings do you have?
Shaun October: I am the only child. [He laughs]
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: How did you get into football and Santos FC?
Shaun October: My first club was Red Rovers, my local club. We used to play in the lower division in the districts. Santos were doing Coaching Clinics, going round primary schools and they came to my school – Vanguard Primary in the Vanguard district. I loved football so anytime or small opportunity I got, I played football. So I trained at the Santos Coaching Clinic, they saw me there and they scouted me. I even remember the name of the guy who scouted me and why I jumped at the opportunity. He promised me he was going to train me from the junior team through the reserves and into the first team because of the potential he saw in me.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: What position did you start with when growing up?
Shaun October: I started as a striker at Red Rovers, but when I arrived at Santos, I was playing left wing. But I played under local legend Keith America, who coached me until I went to the first team of Santos, and he was the one who made me a defender.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: So what is your favorite position and who are the people ‘big’ players you played with at Santos?
Shaun October: I enjoy playing left wing when given the chance but I am comfortable in defense too. My Dad still believes I am a left winger. I have played with a lot of experienced players including John Pantsil and many others, but Preston Adams is my favorite. I miss playing with him a lot. He is my blood cousin. We started at Red Rovers and he joined me at Santos when he came for a trial.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: Would you refer Preston Adams for Hearts if the opportunity arises?
Shaun October: Yes, there are a few brilliant players in South Africa I would refer to Hearts and Preston Adams would be one of them.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: Have you been capped at any level by South Africa?
Shaun October: No, not yet.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: How did you hear of Accra Hearts of Oak?
Shaun October: I have watched Hearts before in Cape Town when they played Santos in 2004 in the Confederation Cup – that was when I first knew about them. I did not know of the achievements of the Club, and how big it was until I met John Pantsil, who told me a lot of good things about the club and the history and all the stuffs.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: What is the relationship between you and John Pantsil; and did he convince you to come and play in Ghana?
Shaun October: We were teammates at Santos. You know life makes you friends, but football makes you brothers. There were a few clubs in S.A [South Africa] that I was about to sign for. It was just a matter of me going in to sign, but John [Pantsil] told me not to sign, and so I took his words and did not sign for any club in my country and came to Ghana.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: It is quite rare for South African players to play in other countries, especially on the continent (in Africa). But why the peculiar move and what is the intention behind you moving to Ghana to play here?
Shaun October: Look, [Accra] Hearts of Oak is a very, very, very big club. I want to play for my National team, and if I do well with Hearts of Oak, the National team [Bafana Bafana] will have no choice than to give me a chance. Do you understand? So that is my motive.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: Can we say you are using Accra Hearts of Oak as a launch pad for your International career? And how are you feeling in Ghana?
Shaun October: I wouldn’t say using Hearts in that sense of the word, but I want to have a very good football career. Playing overseas and out of my country, is an achievement on its own. I really feel at home here; I really don’t miss home. I miss the people at home but everybody here at the club, and in Ghana, has welcomed me and made me feel at home. So I settled in very quickly as well.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: Who has been your closest friend at training?
Shaun October: Emmanuel Hayford (we are definitely very close), as well Selasi [Adjei] and “Blackie” Quaku [Kweku Andoh]. They are the people who are very close to me.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: What of the fans, they have been extremely impressed by your outputs especially when we played Tema Youth, and they have been cheering your every single move and pass. How does that make you feel?
Shaun October: I want to do my best all the time for the club, and for the team. If I can make the fans happy in doing the two things above, then that is a bonus.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: What are your ambitions and targets for the Club?
Shaun October: My immediate ambition is to help the club win trophies and do my best at all times for the team.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: How would you describe or judge your time here, if at the end or during your stay with Hearts, you get a call-up into the South African [Bafana Bafana] national team?
Shaun October: I will love Hearts of Oak forever in my life, even more than I really do if I get a call to the Bafana Bafana during my time here.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: Who are the players you look up to in the world of football and who do you model your game on?
Shaun October: I like [Cristiano] Ronaldo. I like his style of play because he is the best in the world. But in my position, I like Marcelo [Brazilian left-back with Real Madrid]. I try to watch and learn from him and how he goes about his business.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: We have heard you keep a picture of former Hearts player and legend Bernard Dong Bortey in your home, how true is it?
Shaun October: No, that is not true because I think someone heard me wrong. We do not have Dong Bortey’s picture in our living room at home. Dong Bortey’s picture is at the Santos FC office in South Africa. They have it in one of the offices in the Club. That is where the picture is.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: Have you seen him play, where you there when Bernard Dong Bortey scored that long-range goal from his own half, against Santos in 2004?
Shaun October: Yes, I saw him play in Cape Town when Hearts played Santos way back, and I remember his beautiful goal too.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: What do you do after training?
Shaun October: Mostly, I just stay at home and prepare myself for the next day of training. But if not, I go to the [Accra Shopping] Mall with my friends. I like watching sports and music videos. I like to listen to music too.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: Who is your favorite musician, and have you settled on any Ghanaian artiste?
Shaun October: I like to listen to Hip-Hop and R&B. I like many artistes from Hip-Hop and R&B too; but in Ghana, I like Kwesi Pee’s music. He is my good friend and I like listening to all of his songs.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: Have you picked up any of the local languages?
Shaun October: I am learning a bit of Twi and Ga.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: What can you say in those languages, can you give me a sentence?
Shaun October: [He laughs]. “Medaase for the call”. [Thank you for the call in Twi]
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: Can we ask a relationship question? Are you in a relationship?
Shaun October: Yes, I am in a relationship. I have a girlfriend in South Africa.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: Our matches are telecast live on Super Sport, and it is very likely the people back home will see you when the league starts. Will that put a lot of pressure on you when the season starts?
Shaun October: No, not at all. I am actually excited about that prospect. I think my folks back home too will be excited about that too. That will be the way we can see each other, so that will be lovely. I will be very excited [not under pressure].
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: What do you make of the new changes in the team, the technical team?
Shaun October: I haven’t met any other technical team and Santos is the only team I know. But I feel we have an understanding. I can understand everything they say about the tactics and formation, and they also understand me. There is no language barrier. I like how they go about things and they are very professional. I believe they will send this club to the very top with their methods.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: You have played in a lot of games here, what differences do you see between the Ghanaian game and the South African game?
Shaun October: Ghanaian football is a little bit more difficult than the South African game. But South African football is very much developed in terms of infrastructure.
HeartsEleven.wordpress.com: Shaun Mason October, thank you very much for your time. We will catch up with you again.
Shaun October: Thank you very much too, and it is a pleasure talking to you.
What do you think is Shaun October’s best position? If you have watched him play, what has really impressed you about the South African?
Let us continue the discussion on twitter via @HeartsEleven , on facebook via facebook.com/heartseleven or leave a comment in the ‘Leave A Comment’ box.
Cecil Jones Attuquayefio born on the 18th October, 1944 was a loyal servant of Accra Great Olympics -Hearts of Oak’s city rivals – but it was with HEARTS of OAK that he made his name as a coach.
The ex-Black Stars player, after battling with throat cancer for close to eight years, finally lost the fight on the 12th May, 2015. He fought to the very end of his life…….
FROM STAR PLAYER TO LEGENDARY COACH
Attuquayefio’s footballing career spanned almost 20 years. He started with Ghana Academicals in the early sixties, transferred to Accra Standfast F.C for a short-stint, later joined Ghana Republicans and finally settled with Accra Great Olympics – where he played from 1966-1974- during their most successful spell in Ghana football which culminated in two league titles in a space of four years. He was a member of the Black Star team that won the African Nations Cup in 1965.
His coaching career kicked off right after his playing days, his first job was with the Accra Great Olympics team in the mid-seventies. He managed the “wonder club” for almost a decade. He was the Assistant-coach of the Black Stars from 1985-1987.
He managed three teams in four years between 1988 and 1993. He was in charge of Okwahu United for a year and proceeded to Cote d’Ivoire where he managed local giants, Stade Abidjan. He was not there for long and came back to Coach Obuasi Goldfields-present day AshantiGold FC- from 1990-1995; the first three years was spent with the senior team and the last two years were with the Academy side of Obuasi Goldfields.
HISTORY MAKER WITH HEARTS
Attuquayefio was appointed manager of Accra HEARTS OF OAK in 1998 after a short stint with his former club Accra Great Olympics. He brought a new dimension to the reigning Ghana League Champions. Attuquayefio’s Hearts of Oak made it into the Group Stages of the CAF Champions league where they placed second in Group A level on points with Power Dynamos of Zimbabwe who had a superior goal difference.
Hearts and Attuquayefio were back in Africa the following year, but after whipping Ela Nguema of Equatorial Guinea 9-0 on aggregate in the preliminary round, the euphoria was quickly subdued when they placed third in their Group, unable to better the record of the previous year. Hearts went on to retain the Ghana league title which was Cecil Jones’ second league triumph with the club.
After those two unsuccessful stints on the African continent, Cecil Jones moulded -arguably- Hearts of Oak’s greatest team. The lessons in the previous fiasco were learned; the shenanigans of away and home games on the continent were understood; the will-power to not succumb was inculcated into the players. The alchemist and leader of men had found his right formula and with it the antidote to dominate the African terrain.
The new, rectified and fortified team Attuquayefio created came to be known as “BATTALION 64.” Some of the notably members of the “64 Battalion” were: Sammy Adjei, Africa’s Best Goal-keeper at Junior level in 1999, took over the goalkeeping reigns from Eben “Dida” Armah and James Nanor; Stephen Tetteh and the veteran -erstwhile midfielder- E. Agyeman Duah were the heart of the defense. They complemented each other perfectly with Stephen Tetteh, the young, energetic and tower of strength; on the other hand, Agyeman Duah brought experience, calmness and composure to the defense. (Sannie Wahab, the best Hearts defender at the time, missed the final. Agyeman Duah replaced him at the back.)
On the right of defense was the mercurial and marauding Yaw Amankwah Mireku; Captain Jacob Nettey: reliable, hardworking, indefatigable and passionate occupied the left flank.
The centre of battle and the hub of the team had the combative, hard tackling, athletic, Lawrence Adjah Tetteh( a mirror-image-of-Edmund Copson) who win the ball and distribute it effectively; and the silent, wily, shadow wall Joe Ansah marshalling the midfield.
Charles Taylor and Charles Allotey occupied the left and right of midfield respectively. The former, a very skillful, quick, left-footed, defense terrorising, slippery and trickery Charles Taylor; the latter, a very small, underrated, hardworking, passionate, gutty and pocket-Hercules Charles Allotey.
Ishmael Addo, the precocious, pacey, and finisher extra-ordinaire, added youthful enthusiasm to the front-line in tandem with Emmanuel Osei-Kuffor – the General- as he was named by the fans.
Emmanuel Osei-Kuffor, the erstwhile right-back, had been converted to a striker by Cecil Jones Attuquayefio. Osei-Kuffor was creative as a playmaker, and had a strikers instinct in equal measure but his greatest attribute was his composure and calmness-personified in front of goal – Emmanuel Osei Kuffor was the top-scorer in the 2000 CAF Champions League.
As the saying goes, ” A team is as good as its bench” and so the equally talented men were the backbone of the team: J. Nanor, Eben Armah; Justice Ampah, James Zoglo, Emmanuel Donkor, Emmanuel Adjogu, Ali Kwame, Dan Quaye, and man-mountain Osmanu Amadu.
HEARTS OF OAK and Attuquayefio were making history, sweeping all before them on the domestic stage thanks in no small part to the trilogy of Osei Kuffor, Ishmael Addo and Charles Taylor. They were unplayable at times and rightly regarded as one of the continent’s finest combinations. The pair registered more than 15 goals between them in the CAF CL.
Attuquayefio’s artistic team, the 64 battalion, went on to win the CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE in 2000 -defeating Esperance in Tunis (ending a close to 30 years home invincibility record of the North Africans in continental football) and winning the return leg 5-2 on aggregate at Accra
Jacob Nettey kisses Hearts’ first ever Africa Champions League in 2000.
. The appurtenance of their success was the sweeping of all the domestic trophies in the year 2000. The icing on the continental cake was the 2-0 win over African giants, Zamalek SC of Egypt, in the Super Cup the following year.
Attuquayefio’s team had rigour at the back, finesse in the middle and panache in front of goal. But of all the qualities that got them through -and distinguished them from the Hearts of Oak team of old- was the we-shall-not-be-over-awed never say die attitude. This conviction was accentuated when they came from a goal and a man down, to beat Esperance 2-1 in Tunis.
Attuquayefio had succeeded where Charles Addo Odametey had failed twice; the battalion 64 had laid down the gauntlet for the legendary “fearsome-five” squad which comprised Robert Hammond, Mama Musah Acquah, Peter Lamptey, Anas Seidu and Mohammed Ahmed Polo. They had -in effect- threatened the very existence of the afore-mentioned quintessential “fearsome-five” squad in the pantheons of Accra Hearts of Oak Legends; they had marked their claim, rejoiced where the erstwhile deities had mourned, and had usurped all the HEARTS OF Oak sides before them as the greatest side ever assembled in the then 93-year history of the Oak tree.
Yes, they were guided, regimented, drilled, indoctrinated, mollycoddled and masterminded by the great CECIL JONES ATTUQUAYEFIO – Accra Hearts of Oak’s coach of the century.
The football world celebrated Cecil Jones Attuquayefio in June, 2012. Well, we will forever celebrate the man and his impeccable achievements.
Accra Hearts of Oak Board Chairman, Togbe Afede XIV, presenting a cheque to Cecil Jones Attuquayefio during his testimonial match.
*Attuquayefio’s first game in charge of Hearts was the 1-0 defeat away to Eagle Cement.
**Ernst Middendorp had managed the team till the last round before the group stages. Cecil Jones took over and won the maiden trophy
Sir Cecil Jones Attuquayefio returned to Hearts to make it a hat-trick of continental trophies by pipping Kotoko to the Confederation Cup.
.
SUPER CUP: 1
2001: winner
2005: runner-up
Ghana Premier League Champion: 5
1998, 1999 (double), 2000 (treble), 2001 and 2004/2005 (double)
Ghana FA Cup: 2
1999 (double), 2000 (treble)
Attuquayefio, Accra Hearts of Oak, Ghana and Africa is grateful for the years of service to HUMANITY. Ayekoo.
Goodbye, Sir Cecil Jones Attuquayefio – You have been the HOLY one for Accra Hearts of Oak. We shall never forget our Jones…..
[This article first appeared on June, 29th 2012, on modernghana.com, written by @HeartsEleven….. TITLED: CELEBRATING CECIL JONES ATTUQUAYEFIO – The First Conquest of Africa with HEARTS OF OAK
They are back. After five seasons in the lower Divisions, Accra Great Olympics are back, and back to play against their fiercest rivals, Accra Hearts of Oak in the league.
The last time they met, in March, 2010, Samuel Afum
Samuel Afum is the last Hearts player to score against Accra Great Olympics in the 2009/10 season.
got the only game of the goal to cap a league double for Hearts in the 2009/10 season. Tuah Khemiz and Mahatma Otoo were also on the score-sheet in a 0-2 victory in the first encounter.
Olympics have been gone for so long, half a decade to be precise, and it is the longest interval of quiescence in the history of the derby. The Dade Boys have been relegated three times in the 21st century, having been founding fathers of the Ghana League in 1958.
But they are back, again, and they want to claim the city from Hearts.
The Olympics Formation
Accra Great Olympics was formed in 1954, after breaking away from Hearts of Oak’s pre-Independence rivals Accra Standfast.
Standfast were the bogey side of Accra Hearts of Oak pre-Independence, having challenged and threatened the dominance of the Phobians in the Guggisberg Shield for several years. And Olympics morphed into the role by being a thorn-in-the-flesh of the Phobians post Independence.
But Hearts had a serendipitous hand in the formation of Accra Great Olympics when they invited Standfast for a friendly match at the Owusu Memorial Park in the 1950s. Hearts had gone several games without victory over Standfast and had sought the help of a Bishop for ways to end their poor streak.
Indeed, the Bishop [Engloben] told them they could only beat Standfast if they could make the heavens open on any day they play their rivals. It was a very difficult solution, but soon Hearts found the answer.
So when the two squared at the Owusu Memorial Park, the Phobians ran riot, beating Standfast by 6-0! The shock of the defeat began the chain of conflicts which culminated in the disintegration of Standfast and the formation of Accra Great Olympics.
Standfast were paralyzed by the resignation of almost the entire players and executive who moved away to form the Great Olympics in 1954. [culled from: The Saga of Hearts pages 45,48]
The Memorable Games
*Speedy way to a speedy exit
In 1961, Hearts won her third league title (1956, 1958, 1961) with the help of star player and ex-Hasaacas captain Aggrey Fynn, but the season is most remembered for the 4-0 trouncing of Olympics in the FA Cup. A report from the Ghanaian Ties of August, 21, 1961 tells of all the drama which gave Hearts their 4-0 victory:
“One goal up in thirty-six seconds: A hat trick by Aggrey-Fynn in the final quarter-hour!
“That is the dramatic story of the dramatic victory of Accra Hearts of Oak over Great Olympics in their National Cup quarter-final replay at Accra Stadium yesterday.
“It was a match that will long live in the memories of the near-capacity crowd.
“Olympics as confident as a bantam cock, drove their van onto the playing field to an unprecedented burst of cheers. It was a speedy way to a speedy exit.
“Kobina Agyiri Fynn [not to be confused with Aggrey Fynn] kicking off for Hearts, passed a short one to inside left Aggrey Fynn. A square pass found right winger Osei Kofi racing close to the Olympics touchline. Wee! Osei chipped the ball back to [Amadu] Akuse who beat a defender and passed it on to Agyiri Fynn.
“The stocky centre forward let fly a thunderous shot but as goalkeeper Ollenu dived to meet it, right back Ago Laryea got his foot to it and deflected it into the net.
“Only 36 seconds gone. Not one Olympics player had touched it beside Laryea. And Hearts were one-goal up……
“And so to half time with Hearts clinging to their lone goal lead. There was no letting up in the second half.
“Olympics continued their constructive football but were subdued by a solid Hearts defence, ably backed by Addoquaye Laryea in goal.
“It lasted for half of the second half and then Hearts struck their pulverizing form. Four times centre forward Agyiri Fyn shot over the bar or just missed the upright.
“But the pressure was on and Hearts could not be denied. A low cross from left winger Akrong to Akuse was redirected to Aggrey Fynn who hit the corner of the net with a beautiful low drive.
“Seven minutes later, Hearts got a corner kick, Aggrey Fynn was on hand again to bang it home for the third goal.
“Three minutes to full time, Aggrey Fynn completed a personal hat-trick with Hearts’ fourth goal against a weary, dissipated but gallant Olympics.
“It was a conclusive defeat, but you can say this for Olympics. They played good football and kept their heads to the end”.
*Three goals in five minutes
On July 14, 1968, Hearts devastatingly surged from a 0-2 setback to a memorable 4-2 triumph over Great Olympics in a knockout match. In that match, Hearts created history by scoring three goals in five minutes (80th-85th minutes) after getting their first goal in the 49th minute; the rainbow-shirted boys then delighted the crowd with artistic slow-motion soccer.
Just like Olympics had entered the field with a new bus some years down the line, Hearts entered this game in a new set of jerseys donated by ex-Hearts player, and then Head of State, J.A Ankrah, but it was Olympics that started the game on the front foot.
The Dade boys took a commanding two-goal lead before the break. At halftime, captain Charles Addo Odamteng instructed the players not to leave the pitch for the changing room. They stayed on the field [Black Stars end of the stadium goalpost – now score-board end of the stadium] whilst he asked why they wanted to disgrace J.A Ankrah because he knew the man was watching the game on TV. He charged the players and told them, they would rather die than leave the pitch with a defeat.
Then ominously, the heavens opened up before the start of the second half. Rainbow appeared on the coast line, and Hearts got into their elements.
Abeka Ankrah followed up with a firm header beyond goalkeeper Naa Awu, who had fisted the ball back into play, for Hearts’ first goal of the game.
George “Ga Mantse” Alhassan restored parity in the 80th minute. Then it happened again. Abeka Ankrah – alias why worry – found Robert Foley deep in the Hearts half after intercepting a pass. Ankrah raced into the half of Olympics on a counter to receive a return pass from Foley, but ball deflected off an Olympics defender before falling kindly towards the Hearts man. He controlled beautifully with his chest to go past Naa Awu, before walking the ball into the net where he blasted into the roof and got tangled in the net. The fans rushed to field. They all fell on the striker. He could not breathe. Slowly, they lifted him out, and in the picture below, he is being asked by Joe Ghartey and Robert Foley whether he could continue
Ghartey and Foley quiz Ankrah if he could continue after fans mobbed him in celebration.
.
Stop playing after that comeback? Hell no. Ankrah continued but Amusa Gbadamoshie got the last laugh, scoring a fine goal with the angle against him, to complete a memorable comeback for Hearts. 2-0 down at halftime; 4-2 winners at full-time.
HEROES and VILLAINS
The rivalry has seen its fair share of pitch-side duels, with goalkeepers and strikers slanging it out for the heroic crown or clown on the day.
Once-upon-a-time, Thomas Otenkorang, facing the great goalkeeper Lantey Duru, scored straight from a corner kick to hand Hearts a 1-0 win over Olympics.
Richard Kingson, who has returned to the club, never had fun playing against the late Shamo Quaye. The Shamo ‘leather’ has some of his best goals coming against Olympics, and Kingston had been on the end of many.
Sammy Adjei
Sammy Adjei was ripped apart by Kwame Ali in his first Olympics-Hearts game.
, on his local debut, picked up two goals in the opening 45 minutes against Accra Great Olympics, but his blushes were saved by Dan Quaye and Osmanu Amadu, who leveled the scores in the second half, in a thrilling 2-2 draw.
But the keepers were not always the villains; the strikers were not spared in those days. Peter Lamptey was sacked, by the fans, from Olympics after missing a golden opportunity against Hearts. The ‘goal thief’ was accused of playing it soft against his prophesied beloved club though he had on many occasions been the thorn-in-the-flesh of the Hearts defense.
Chased home and humiliated the following day at training, Peter Lamptey switched camp and joined Hearts in 1972/73. The rest became history.
However, the greatest individual to come out of the two clubs, is without a shadow of doubt, Cecil Jones Attuquayefio. The only ‘sir’ in Ghana football made his name playing for Accra Great Olympics, but he entered coaching folklore with his achievements with Accra Hearts of Oak: five league titles, three continental trophies, and many more.
The GOLDEN ERA
There is a long history of players switching camps from Hearts to Olympics and vice-versa. The acquisition of Peter Lamptey could be the finest move by Hearts for an Olympics player. Lamptey went on to help Hearts win its first ever double in Ghana football in 1973. In fact, the Phobians were masters of all they surveyed, winning all the trophies on display in 1973 – only failing to make a mark on the continent.
In recent times, Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor joins Osei Kuffor, Ishmael Addo and Edmund Copson in celebration. Taylor left Olympics for Hearts.
has had a similar effect, joining from Olympics to help Hearts to an unprecedented treble in Ghana football in the year 2000.
Great Olympics have also benefited from snatching players from Hearts into the camp, but the duo of Christian Madus and Abeka Ankrah, have had a more telling effect for Olympics.
The duo helped Olympics to win their last league title in 1974, after they were declared surplus to requirements at Hearts.
The 1970s was a golden era for the two Accra Clubs. Olympics won 2 league titles (1970 and 1974), whilst Hearts won the league five times (1971, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1979) in that period.
The New REALITY
Great Olympics have not been able to recapture the golden decades of the 1970s, but they were the first of the two clubs to play a continental competition, reaching the semi-finals in 1971, before Hearts ventured into Africa the following year.
The Dade Boys have been relegated three times in the last 15 years, and that has gone a long way in diluting the rivalry
Laryea Kingston, switched from Olympics, to Hearts in 2002.
.
Hearts have excelled, and many times at the expense of Olympics, snatching their best talents and making them champions. The Phobians have won 14 league titles since Olympics’ last triumph on the domestic stage; won three continental trophies within the period.
And this has made the derby, no longer a fight for supremacy, but a fight for only three points and bragging rights for the city.
Olympics are back this time around; back to make the loudest noise in the capital. Yet, Hearts will say to them, “Be Quiet and don’t be Silly.”
15 years on, and it has still not sunk in. 71 derbies before then, 22 after it; yet, nobody has forgotten. 101 games have been played between Hearts and Kotoko, but none of the other 100 games come close to this very game.
15th March, 2000 AD was the day. Unarguably, the greatest assembly of men ever gathered in Club football history in Ghana. The team that went on to win four unprecedented trophies in a season had set their greatest rivals on fire. They humiliated Kotoko. Battered them left, right and center with the Porcupine Warriors not knowing what exactly had hit them. The 64-battalion and their sweeping force were a nightmare for the legions of Kotoko fans till this very day and a reverie for the fans of the Oak tree.
Four goals have been scored by a team in the 101 Hearts versus Kotoko clashes in the league on three occasions. Hearts lead the way with 3 victories (after scoring four) to Kotoko’s one.
First, Hearts beat Kotoko 4-3 in an abandoned game in 1958 at the Jackson Park – the Phobians won the replay at the same venue 5-2; Kotoko avenged that defeat with a 4-2 win in Accra the same year. But Hearts repeated the trick again, a quarter of a century later from 1958, when they beat Kotoko 4-3 in another classic thriller in Kumasi.
Close to two decades later after the terrific 4-3 Hearts win over Kotoko in 1983, Cecil Jones Attuquayefio whose career had spiraled down after he picked up an injury whilst playing for – Hearts of Oak’s city rivals – Accra Great Olympics against Kotoko in the 1971 Africa Club Champions semi-final, had his revenge when the team that brought him success as the Best Coach in Africa in 2000, trounced Asante Kotoko 4-0 at the Accra Sports Stadium.
A rainy Wednesday morning and a mid-week fixture in only the second game of the season saw Kumasi Asante Kotoko trek to the Accra Sports Stadium to face old foes Accra Hearts of Oak. The Porcupines had a good start to the year after they beat Hearts in the J.O.T Agyeman Cup in February, 2000. It was time to repeat the dosage or – as time will later exemplify – to suffer their heaviest defeat since Ebusua Dwarfs shamed them 5-0 three decades earlier.
Hearts, in search of a first continental Cup in their 89-year history, were disinterested in the league after winning it on three consecutive occasions. The focus had switched to Africa, and the team was put to a secret training camp from January, 2000. A preparation for the African odyssey, has fate will have it, prodded Kotoko to Accra on the 15th of March, 2000.
What transpired could never be written down. An attempt to describe the day would be an understatement and an injustice, as an adjective worthy of perfectly depicting the game is yet to be coined by the Queen of England – an unofficial petition letter has been sent to Her Royal Highness in regard to a neologism befitting the 4-0 rout. But 15 years on, the Buckingham Palace reply has not reached the shores of the capital, Accra.
Four nil, the game ended. The precocious Ishmael Addo, top-scorer for Hearts in the derby with Kotoko, grabbed his customary two before the first half. Addo’s first, a thumping header from a Kenneth Sarpong cross in the 24th minute left defender Frank Atsu in a Sisyphean struggle, heading on beyond his keeper. The young assassin’s second, a sweet temerarious chip from outside the box over goalkeeper Oscar Asamoah few minutes to the half hour. It was so good that the commentator was left in stupefaction… “What a goal? Ishmael Addo…. Oooooooooooh!”
Kenneth Sarpong, one of the most silent yet salient stars of the 64-battalion juggernaut, added the third goal after the break with a sweet volley that could be watched over and over again, without the slightest feeling of monotony.
Emmanuel Osei Kuffour, the General, had redefined the word coolness and panache in front of goal with the most exquisite set of skill in the box since man had found delight in toying with the round leather ball.
Opoku Afriyie, Francis Kumi and K. Badu had established a standard in the derby when they scored for Kotoko to win 3-0 in Accra in 1980.
20 years on, the 64-battalion had obliterated the record in the derby; a sweet revenge and the greatest Hearts of Oak victory over Kotoko in 101 games. Thank you to the following legends who made this day possible. Thank you Cecil Jones for the unbridled joy you gifted us. And we will forever remember this day, and celebrate the names of the 64 battalions. Hearts XI is a mighty team. 4-0. 4-0. 4-0. 4-0. Kotoko, what is the score? Four – Zero. Again? Four! Or you want more?
Full-time Result: Hearts 4-0 Kotoko.
HEARTS XI:
Sammy Adjei; Yaw Amankwah Mireku, Jacob Nettey (C), Justice Ampah, Stephen Tetteh; Joe Ansah, Charles Allotey ( Adjah Tetteh), Charles Taylor, Kenneth Sarpong ( ); Ishmael Addo (Emmanuel Adjogu), Emmanuel Osei Kuffour.
[Somebody asked me, why do you celebrate a past result? My answer was simple: I saw a T-shirt celebrating a Kotoko 2-0 victory over Hearts
Kotoko memorabilia shirt being rocked by a mate…. 2-0 they beat Hearts. And T-Shirts to make the occasion?
. Now, do you still feel I should not celebrate a 4-0 score? What would they have done had they won by that margin against us? Maybe, they will build a 4-0 statue at the entrance of the Babayara………]
NB: At Hearts, nobody celebrates the 4-0 win. What we celebrate or commemorate are the 4 trophies we won. The 4-0 is just an appurtenance……
Accra Hearts of Oak beat rivals Asante Kotoko 0-1 in the Ghana Premier League courtesy a strike from young striker Samuel Afum at the Babayara Sports Stadium.
It was the last season Hearts did the league double over Kotoko. And coincidentally, Samuel Afum, who had scored in Accra, became the first player in the history of the Kotoko-Hearts rivalry to score the SOLE WINNER in back-to-back games in one season.
Also, Samuel Afum joined Robert Foley
Robert Foley (right) set the record as the only player to score in 1-0 and 0-1 Hearts victories over Kotoko in 1969 and 1975. But Afum joined the star in 2010.
(1969 and 1975) as the second Hearts player to score in 0-1 and 1-0 victories against Kotoko in the league.
The win also ensured Hearts recorded a third double over Kotoko in the league in 11 years (1999, 2006/7 and 2009/10).
On the other hand, Kotoko have gone 28 years and counting without beating Hearts back-to-back in one league season. The last time Kotoko did the league double over Hearts was in 1987 when they won 2-0 in Kumasi and 0-1 in Accra. [na dem born you?]
Remember that that poor Kotoko record still continues and after this season, it will be 29 years. But because they cannot do the double over Hearts, having lost in Kumasi, we can boldly say the wait will stand at three decades. Yes 30 years. Oh-it’s-hard-to-be-a-porcupine!!!
Yet, it is pure bliss to be a Phobian. Ain’t you proud to be a Phobian?
Forever keeping the loud-mouth rival SILENT. Be quiet and don’t be silly is not an empty phrase.
Big salute to Samuel Afum, who went on to win the joint-goal king for the season.
It’s that time of the season, when the Glorious Acccra Hearts of Oak rekindles her eternal rivalry with Kumasi Asante Kotoko, and leading up to the game on Saturday, HeartsEleven.wordpress.com, will take you through Heart of Oak’s finest league victories at the Kumasi fortress of Kumasi.
KOTOKO 3 – 4 HEARTS (24th August, 1958):
This game was the beginning of the age-old rivalry between the two Ghanaian heavyweights. Hearts of Oak were the dominant force in pre-Independent Ghana, having won the Guggisberg Shield six times in 12 years. In confirmation of the Rainbow Club’s pre-Independence supremacy, and on this first ever meeting in the league against Kotoko at the Kumasi Jackson Park, the Phobians played the home side off the pitch. In an exciting opening 45-minutes, Hearts scored three quality goals through Ofei Dodoo, C.K Gyamfi and Nii Dowuona. But after recess, Kotoko pegged back the scores before Ofei Dodoo
Ofei Dodoo was the first player to score in the Hearts-Kotoko rivalry. He scored a brace in the first meeting.
doubled his tally to put Hearts in the lead again. However, the game was abandoned in the 70th minute when Kotoko’s Dogo Moro refused to leave the pitch after he was red-carded by the center Referee. In the temporary kerfuffle, Hearts goalkeeper Addoquaye Laryea was injured and rushed to the hospital, and 100 fans were arrested after the confusion escalated into a riot.
But although the game did not end, the Hearts win was never in doubt.
KOTOKO 3 – 4 in Kumasi (1983):
A-quarter-of-a-century after taking a commanding 3-0 first half lead in Kumasi , and allowing their opponents to peg the scores, before going on to take the lead again, Hearts repeated the wondrous chicanery against Kotoko at the Kumasi Sports Stadium. The Rainbow Club, powered by Sam Yeboah’s brace and Botwe’s goal, took a sensational 3-0 lead before the break against the home side. However, Opoku Nti – now CEO of Kotoko – scored three quick goals on resumption to level the scores. But in another dramatic twist, defender Hesse Odamtten headed the winner late on to quell the threatened Kotoko rebellion. Odamtten’s header could still rate as the best headed goal scored in Hearts history. It was not so much for the technique or power as the bravery, daring and temerity to dive in, knowing he would be injured after connecting to the ball. Injured, he was after the goal, but Hesse Odamtten never cared as Hearts carried all the three points.
KOTOKO 1 – 2 in Kumasi (3rd March, 1978):
It’s highly unusual for 10 men to win against 11 men in a football game, but it is extremely unfathomable for 9 men to win against 11 men away from home in a Derby match. But that is exactly what Glorious Hearts did in 1978 at the home of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, during the pomp of the “Fearsome Fivesome”. Midfield maestro, Robert Hammond, was in his elements to set up Bismark Odoi for the first goal in the first half. Kotoko equalized 10 minutes after the break but Hearts protested against the contentious equalizer only for Referee Bah Alhassan of Sunyani to send off skipper Robert Hammond and Seth Ampadu in the 55th minute. For 35 minutes, the nine men played as if they were 20. Thrice, Yahya Kahn had to be alert to avert Hearts from taking the lead again, but at the death, he would wilt and so would the Porcupine fans. If the Phobians felt hard done by the Kotoko goal and the refereeing, it was all forgotten when Douglas Tagoe conjured a thunderous strike at the death to gift 9-man Hearts all the three points, the bragging rights, and most importantly, instant justice that put Kumasi to silent sorrowful sleep.
4 KOTOKO 1 – 2 HEARTS (8th February, 2009): The Daily Graphic (Monday, 9th February, 2009 edition) called it a “21-gold carat performance” from Accra Hearts of Oak. They were not wrong. Hearts outclassed, outfoxed, outmaneuvered, outrun and outplayed Kumasi Asante Kotoko in their backyard during this fixture. Hassan Mohammed scored first and Obed Ansah doubled the lead in the second half before Stephen Oduro pulled a goal back. But it could have been more had Hearts not taken her foot off the gas, and the young Samuel Afum
Samuel Afum in a league action for Hearts. He missed a lot of chances in his first game against Kotoko, but he scored back-to-back when he found his feet against the old enemy in the 2009/10 season.
not laced his scoring boots with clemency shots.
The 2-1 win in Kumasi was Hearts’ first victory over Kotoko at the Kumasi Sports Stadium since Edmund Copson’s
Edmund Copson, second from right, scored for 10-man Hearts to beat Kotoko in Kumasi in 1999.
lone goal put the Garden City to early sleeplessness in 1999. But the decade-long reprieve is flattering for the Porcupines who managed only two wins in that space of time. In fact, the Phobians actually pipped Kotoko 0-1 in the latter’s 2006/7 premier league home fixture that had been shifted to Cape Coast as a result of reconstruction work at the Kumasi Sports Stadium in preparation for the CAN 2008.
KOTOKO 1 – 2 HEARTS (1990)
A league decider that established Accra Hearts of Oak’s reputation for the big occasion. The Rainbow Club was a point ahead of Asante Kotoko and needed a draw to secure the league title, but Hearts did not do “draws” when it mattered most.
The rhetoric before the much-anticipated match was: “
Boy wonder Papa Shamo Quaye leather outdoes Kotoko prodigy Joe Debrah.
Shamo Quaye versus Joe Debrah: Who is Who?”
The home team paraded a crack rearguard, which they called “barrier”, made up of the likes of Black Stars defenders Emmanuel Ampeah, Kwasi Appiah (former Black Stars captain and coach), Frimpong Manso, but Hearts entered the game as barrier-breakers.
Shamo Quaye gave Hearts the lead shortly after the break with a sweet volley, not only to power Hearts to victory but to confirm his triumph over his rival, Joe Debrah on the day. However, Starlets defender Baba Musah rose highest to head home the equalizer from a corner kick. But before the jubilant home supporters could regain their calm and resume their seats, Anthony “the cannonball” Tieku had restored Hearts’ lead, tapping home the rebound, after Kotoko goalkeeper Mohammed Odom failed to give a firm grab of Mohammed Polo’s shot, which had come about after the magnificently marvelous Mohammed had waltzed past five players straight from the restart. Remarkably, that was the day Kotoko fans serendipitously celebrated a Hearts goal. The legion of Porcupine fans were still basking in the ephemeral glory of their equalizer and did not see the Anthony Tieku winning strike. They only realized Hearts had scored the winner at full-time, when the score-board read 1-2 for the Rainbow Club.
[The above legend was a replica of the 1985 decider in Kumasi. There again, the Phobians needed a draw to clinch their second straight league title. Inspired by ex-Kotoko legend Opoku Afriyie, the Rainbow boys ran away with a famous 0-1 victory courtesy Joe Amoateng.]
KOTOKO 0 – 1 HEARTS (1970)
From the esoteric world, news had filtered through prior to the game that for Hearts to win the game, a player would have to “self-immolate”. Stand forward, George “Ga Mantse” Alhassan
George “Ga Mantse” Alhassan got his leg broken by Oliver Acquah but Hearts won the game without their famous striker. [right – Pele], who sacrificed his body for the Phobia victory. All these might have been coincidental, but the truth of the matter was that Hearts did, indeed win by a lone goal, and George Alhassan got his league broken by defender Oliver Acquah in the third minute of the game. This was also the season city-rivals Accra Great Olympics pipped Hearts to the league by a single point, and Kotoko, defending league champions, finished a disappointing 11th.
Hearts were not so forgiving when the two met at the Kumasi Sports Stadium. The Daily Graphic reporter on the match day, E.A Boateng, reported the game thus: “Kumasi Asante Kotoko yesterday crumbled before thousands of their followers to Accra Hearts of Oak in their outstanding league match at the Kumasi Sports Stadium
And the 1-0 defeat which they suffered will go down in the record books as the bitterest ever tasted at the hands of Hearts, for they were outclassed in all the departments of the game. It was a first minute goal scored by Africa Cup star Robert Foley who brilliantly gave a scissors kick to a well taken corner kick by left winger Kofi Bruce.
Throughout the game, Hearts played a masterpiece of soccer and excelled both in strategy and skills.
Their defense pivot on veteran Addo Odamtey rendered Kotoko’s attack ineffective.
Master dribbler Osei Kofi was well marked and it was Africa Cup star Malik who showed brilliance in Kotoko’s attack but the resultant corner kick was wasted
Kotoko pressed hard but the vital equalizer never came.”
Need we add more to this picturesque description of the Hearts win?
KOTOKO 0 – 1 HEARTS (Sunday, May 12, 1991): Hearts of Oak were on the verge of a mental collapse after they were lugubriously knocked-out of Africa by Petro Atletico of Angola. The Phobians’ bright season had hit its first real test when they beat the Angolans 4-2 in Accra, only to lose 3-1 in Angola. To make matters worse, a few players were accused of pilfering at their Luanda hotel. The league had also faced a lot of postponements during the first round, and when this fixture arrived, the Porcupine fans rubbed it in for Hearts by showing up with bed sheets at the Stadium, a clear mimicking of the “Hearts-Angola-Bedsheet-gate.” Now, the game was supposed to be a party for the red half of Kumasi, but Hearts rose to the occasion once again. The equally brilliant and enterprising Ezekiel Alamu scored the only goal of the game, seven minutes into the second half, to once again silence the planned Phobia humiliation. Kotoko fans had come poised to deride their rivals, but the Phobians ended up riding shoulder high back to the Capital. He who laughs last…
8. KOTOKO 1 – 2 HEARTS (1st December, 1996): This was the first game of the 1996/97 season. Hearts took the long trip to Kumasi to face Kumasi Asante Kotoko on the opening day, and it was here that the Phobians laid the gauntlet for the season.
Long time servant and captain, Nii Noi Dowuona put Hearts in the lead in the first half, but after the break, Kotoko equalized through a penalty. Hearts got a penalty of their own, which was spurned by Godwin Ablordey (latter day Kotoko legend), but Theophilus Amusu was on hand to score the winner for the visitors. It is the most important single win for Hearts in the late 20th century against Kotoko. That victory turned the tide for Hearts, and gave the players the belief that they could achieve the ultimate. And they did go ahead to win the league at the end of the season. Coincidentally, and more befittingly, Nii-Noi Dowuona, once-upon-a-time-Hearts-green-horn, was the one who popped up to convert a late penalty against city-rivals Great Olympics to hand Hearts her first league title since 1990. Unknown to anybody then, the Phobians were sowing the seeds for an unprecedented period of dominance in Ghanaian football, a phenomenal era that saw their eventual annexation of the CAF Champions League in 2000, the fourth year of Hearts’ six-year stranglehold on the local league.
9. KOTOKO 1 – 2 HEARTS (17th October, 1976): The Phobians had gone three years without the league title, although they had a very talented squad.
Promotion from within had seen youngster Ofei Ansah break into the squad, and a rising Mohammed Polo cementing his name in Ghanaian football history. Hearts were held to a 1-1 drawn game by league contenders Kotoko in Accra, but they needed to win the return league in order to set day-light between themselves and their closest challengers, Kotoko in the season. At the Kumasi Sports Stadium, Malik Jabir got the opener for the home side in the first half, but Peter “goal-thief” Lamptey and Robert Hammond scored to turn defeat to victory for Hearts of Oak. The Phobians won their remaining two games to clinch the league title, and also start another period of dominance which would see them win three titles in four seasons, but unfortunately, the late 1970s revival could not lead to a continental success.
KOTOKO 1 – 2 HEARTS (13th June, 1993): There was something special about Hearts in the early 1990s when they went to play Kumasi Asante Kotoko at the Kumasi Sports Stadium. What exactly it was, we still cannot pin-point, but the Phobians always rose to the occasion at the cauldron of the Porcupines. This game was the last of four consecutive away victories at the home of Kotoko, from 1989-93 – all of them ending by one goal victory margins; 1-2, 0-1, 0-1, 1-2.
On this occasion, Bernard Aryee and Massawudu scored two beautiful goals in a space of 23 minutes of the first half to hand Hearts a healthy lead before the break. Strangely, Kotoko goalkeeper Sampson Appiah was replaced by Anthony Osei Kojo after conceding the two goals, and the Porcupines pulled a goal back mid-way into the second half through Joseph Okyere, but Hearts held on to continue their four-game winning streak at the home of Kotoko in the league.
KOTOKO 2 – 5 HEARTS (2nd November, 1958): This was the second ever game between Hearts and Kotoko. Although details of the scorers and history-makers have been lost to time, the 5 Hearts of Oak goals still remain the highest scored by one-side in the 100 league games played between the two sides. The Kumasi Jackson Park played host to what was popularly becoming the Game-of-the-Nation post Independence. After Dogo Moro’s refusal to leave the pitch when he was red-carded had plunged the game into anarchy leading to a call-off, with Hearts leading 4-3 at the home of Kotoko, the League Management Committee ordered for a replay on the 2nd November, 1958. Hearts continued where they had left off, pummeling their opponents to a 5-2 humiliation in the replay to set her on course for her second league triumph in two years – and first title win in Independent Ghana. The Hearts victory also set Phobia minds wondering what could have been, had the first meeting not ended at 4-3. Maybe, Hearts could have scored more in the last 20 minutes, but it did not matter at all, as the 5-2 win in the replay was enough justice.
On the 6th February, 1969, Accra Hearts of Oak were held to a 2-2 drawn game by a Pele-led Santos FC of Brazil in an international friendly at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Striker Abeka Ankrah opened the scoring midway in the game but Edson Arantes do Nascimento Pele struck to pull the visitors level before the break.
Not in the mood to be outdone, Ghana’s own “Pele” Amusa Gbadamoshie, restored Hearts’ lead in the second half, but midfielder Edu earned the great Brazilian side a deserving draw.
Hearts were denied a piece of history by Referee George Lamptey and his assistant, who flagged wrongly for offside, when George “Ga Mantse” Alhassan
George “Ga Mantse” Alhassan was denied the opportunity to be the hero. He gifts Pele a kente scarf before the game.
had prodded home to make it 3-2.
Despite the draw, Hearts still wrote their names in the history books by holding the giants from Brazil to a drawn game.
Santos FC had gone on a tour of Africa in 1969, led by the player, who would become the greatest ever to play the beautiful game, Pele. The Brazilian giants played 9 games on the continent. They won five, drew three and lost just one, and scored and conceded 19 and 11 goals respectively.
Pele
A young Pele would go on to rule world football.
took is tour tally to 7 goals when he netted the equalizer against Hearts at the Accra Sports Stadium, but he made it 8 goals, and became Santos’ top-scorer on tour, on the African continent when he scored against Algeria three days later.
Accra Hearts of Oak were in their 8th year without the league title when they welcomed the mighty Brazilian side that had dominated the Brazilian league, winning the title five consecutive years, and even became the first side to complete a quadruple.
In contrast to Hearts, when Santos were casting their mast on world football in 1962 and laying the seeds for their period of dominance, the Phobians could not build on their league winning feat in the 1961-62 season after the departure of star man Edward Aggrey-Fynn.
But with the game against the Brazilians in 1969, and a disorganized Tour of the UK in late 1970, the fortunes of the club turned considerably in the new decade of the 70s. Hearts won the league four times in the 1970s – 1971, 1973, 1977, and 1979 – and missed out on continental glory twice in the period.
Whereas the influence of Santos FC on the team and how it changed the mentality of the club is subtle, Hearts should be grateful for the friendly with the Brazilians and the opportunity to test their might against the mighty Santos FC of Pele.
It must also be noted that whereas Pele scored 1281 goals in his career, he scored one of those against Hearts at the Accra Sports Stadium.
He went on to win the World Cup with Brazil a year later, his third, but that day on the 6th February, 1969, he was outshone by Abeka Ankrah and Amusa Gbadamoshie; but not outscored by the Hearts duo.
[In many Hearts books and even official documents, the date of this match has erroneously been made 6th June, 1969, and other places, 2nd June, 1969. But here is the clear proof of the correct day of the match. http://santosfcwolrdsoccer.blogspot.com/2011/02/santos-fc-history-february-4-1969.html
PS: It is not 4th Feb, the link leads you to the correct date. Check it out]
The New Rise of Fiamenyo – and the moral lesson for Hearts fans.
“Take him off, Herbert Addo!”
“We should play 10 against 11 and bench Fiamenyo!”
“If Fiamenyo is our striker, then we must forget it!”
“Fiamenyo must learn from Ahmed Toure!”
“Look at his buttocks! He cannot even run!”
“Fiamenyo is fat and s**t!”
“Fiamenyo is disgracing us!”
“Fiamenyo must not wear the Hearts jersey!”
“Sell Fiamenyo for free!”
“Fiamenyo cannot help us!”
“Is Fiamenyo a sumo wrestler or a footballer?”
Those were the popular “praises” hurled at Gilbert Fiamenyo during the Hearts pre-season – particularly the Top 4 competition.
Can you cross your heart and say, you never used any of the above “praises” for Gilbert Fiamenyo or even worse which cannot be printed? Yes, I am waiting. I have got all day.
But never mind. That was how we tore the guy’s confidence into pieces; shattered his ego like a pedigree dog. He had fallen down in our sight and we just wanted to get rid of him – for good too.
And it got to the man Fiamenyo. After training, he walked with his head down, but still we pointed fingers at him. Then he started using his ‘togbe-cap’ or balaclava – if you like – and still the abuses continued; just picture a man of Fiamenyo’s frame trying so hard not to be seen.
Yet, it did not end on the field or even at training; it followed him home. His girlfriend of six-years left him. And he fell again. He tried to smile but there was no one to smile to. And even before then, he was a broken-man-walking as he nearly wept when they prevented him from entering the local Black Stars hotel when they returned as runners-up from the CHAN tournament in January last year.
His family became worried and even relatives said he was disgracing the family name. Everywhere they went, people were making fun of the family name F-I-A-M-E-N-Y-O.
And that nearly ended it for the young man. He felt like the wealthy man who had myriad gold yesterday, but could not even afford to buy water today.
Backtrack 2 years earlier; he was the toast of the fans even though he had not kicked a ball for Hearts. On the 14th August, 2012, Fiamenyo’s picture was on the front page of HEARTS NEWS with these beautiful words sprinkled around his frame: “HEARTS SIGN FIAMENYO! Fiamenyo: Once a Lion now a Phobian.”
Front Page of Accra Hearts of Oak official mouthpiece HEARTS NEWS when Fiamenyo joined the club.
The fans had seen closely how he bullied Kofi Agyare and Philip Boampong in the ultimate game of the first round of the 2011/12 season. He did not score, but he left a huge scar at the Accra Sports Stadium, helping his team to bounce back twice to earn a draw with a shell-shocked Hearts. Fiamenyo had scored six goals before that and left for Serbia in search of a contract which never materialized because he had picked up a serious injury.
Hearts doled out the money and bought him from Heart of Lions despite his injury, and he repaid the trust with seven goals and four assists in the second round of the 2012/13 season. But that was it. He peaked at the closing stage of the season, and when he came back the following season, he had lost it all. One goal from 9 games (8 of which he started from the bench) meant his stock had fallen exponentially.
Things got from worse to worst for Fiamenyo in the Top-4 competition with even Head Coach Herbert Addo being pointed-fingers at for keeping faith with the out-of-form striker.
I cannot claim to be a Fiamenyo confidant or believer or praise-singer or best/close friend or anything of that sort. But the striker told me he would bounce back.
“I will rather make my name in the league than score in pre-season and fail to score when the season starts,” Fiamenyo asserted (in a private/personal conversation).
I took it as an empty bluff! Thought to myself sarcastically that ‘we want it now, you dey say tomorrow’. However, outwardly, I wished him well and gave him the words of encouragement that if he had done it before; he could do it again.
But, I honestly doubted him from what I had seen from training & during pre-season friendly games. He was missing the easiest of chances. He became King Midas, but only that everything he touched turned to dung instead of gold.
What was even painful was that whenever they substituted him in pre-season or even at training, whoever took his place came to get a goal or two to their name. Two weeks before the new season, we had to pretend a match did not happen because he missed a penalty against Division 2 side Madina Republicans in a 0-0 draw at Pobiman. Fiamenyo had hit the nadir; and we did not want to stoke the fire against his already, not even tarnished, but non-existent reputation at the time.
But then, like the elders say: “Through every dark night, there is a bright day after….”
The phoenix in Fiamenyo rose again. He struck on the opening day of the season against Sogakope WAFA in the first game of the 2014/15 First Capital Plus Premier League – incidentally at Kpando.
Six days before the start of the season, he netted a brace against Division One side Akosombo Crystal Palace in a 5-0 rout.
Four games into the new season and he had scored five goals. Wait! Make it five goals in the first three league games. And they were not ordinary goals.
The first strike, a clever chip over the goalkeeper in Kpando against WAFA; his second, A CLINICAL STRIKE FROM A ONE-ON-ONE SITUATION to level the scores against Berekum Chelsea; quickly followed by his third: a fox-in-the-box finish from a cross in a crowded penalty box to complete a remarkable turnaround for Hearts.
But despite his heroics, the Hearts defense condoned to steal the spotlight from Fiamenyo by losing the game 4-2 to Berekum Chelsea. Yet, he continued his scoring form again at the Essipong.
A half-turn volley from a beautiful team move involving Paul Acquah and Selasi Adjei was his fourth strike of the season, and he topped that with a super solo strike that got his markers down to their feet; and spectators off their feet, again at the Essipong against Medeama.
I hardly know how many goals Gilbert Fiamenyo will score in the remaining games of the season, but even if he does not score again till the season ends, I strongly believe there are lessons for Hearts fans in his present – maybe ephemeral – success.
Not every player has the test of character or temperament of Gilbert Fiamenyo to survive the mortification, thrive under the hostility, and revive their career like the burly striker has done in this few days of the season. And here in lies the lesson.
Goalkeeper Tetteh Luggard is everybody’s villain. Every goal conceded is the fault of the young man. He committed not a single mistake – in my opinion – leading to the four goals he conceded against Berekum Chelsea.
But we called for Seidu Mutawakilu in the next game, and the pressure got to the young man on his first appearance. Once again, some said he should not keep again, forgetting that it was only his first ever start in the Premier League. Others sent an SOS to Soulama Abdoulaye straight away oblivious of the fact that if defenders did not defend their lines, it was the goalkeepers who would be exposed. And we kept saying we had a goalkeeping problem straight away instead of supporting our keepers.
Abraziz Abankwa, who has made giant steps in terms of performance – and could be, without competition, the most improved Hearts player, was also not spared at the Essipong when we lost to Chelsea. And midfielder Leonard Tawiah’s Hearts career is on the verge of dying even though he hardly put a foot wrong doing his defensive duties against Berekum Chelsea.
And even last Saturday, defender Isaac Oduro had to chase a fan with a stone to protect himself after he was singled out for t he goal at Bechem. Why do we do all these to the players of the team we support?
All because, we are in a golden and never-ending-pursuit for a villain – or who to blame – whenever we lose a game or results don’t go our away.
Things are not going so well for Herbert Addo’s side at the moment, but what if we all throw our support for the team – in good and bad times!
Where will our support take us? What will the unflinching support do for the players and the team?
I look back to Coach Mohammed Polo’s penultimate game in charge of Hearts, and I get goosebumps when I recall how the fans turned up for the former Hearts hero.
Bereft of fan support throughout his short tenure, the fans resurfaced against the sworn enemy, Kotoko, in Kumasi. We, yes, the fans, were there to support the team; and just look at how the players played with so much pride and heart. If we can rally ourselves up against Kotoko, why not do the same against the other teams?
On the other hand, and most of you would be thinking of the alternative route to making players stand up for the Hearts jersey, I agree just to only a small extent the alternative route of making players stand up for the Hearts jersey. It cannot always be kisses for misses or hugs for thugs. I know.
And true, I have seen at close hand what ‘tough love’ can do for Hearts players. I remember how Samuel Afum and Mahatma Otoo came to be loved. They had to work for it; sweat for the love, respect, and recognition. But those who overcame are just a few compared to those who wilted – and never recovered like James Abban, James Bissue, Richard Addai, Edward Afum, David Anas, etc.,
Hearts is a big club and the level of expectation is demanding. But perhaps, we, the fans, must change our ways now and move from the come-to-be-entertained-only-supporters or only-good-time-supporters and part-time-supporters to TRUE SUPPORTERS, THROUGH AND THROUGH, for the PLAYERS, COACHES, and most importantly for the great TEAM, ACCRA HEARTS OF OAK.
If Fiamenyo can find his way back to the top through all these quandaries without our support, why can’t we help the team and the players back to the top with our very own support when results are not good?
Over to you, Hearts fan. Do you support only when we win or you will support us to win?NB: Sorry, Gilbert Fiamenyo, we take back all our bad words.
“Take him off, Herbert Addo!”
“We should play 10 against 11 and bench Fiamenyo!”
“If Fiamenyo is our striker, then we must forget it!”
“Fiamenyo must learn from Ahmed Toure!”
“Look at his buttocks! He cannot even run!”
“Fiamenyo is fat and s**t!”
“Fiamenyo is disgracing us!”
“Fiamenyo must not wear the Hearts jersey!”
“Sell Fiamenyo for free!”
“Fiamenyo cannot help us!”
“Is Fiamenyo a sumo wrestler or a footballer?”
[My sincerest apology goes to Gilbert Fiamenyo for using personal conversations we had in the past in my blog without his permission or knowledge. But I hope this will serve a greater cause than the small clip of the ear I will get from the big man].
![George "Ga Mantse" Alhassan got his leg broken by Oliver Acquah but Hearts won the game without their famous striker. [right - Pele]](https://heartseleven.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/ga-mantse-alhas.jpg)
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