MTN FA Cup: Hearts, kotoko ease through
Strange decisions taken by referee Dan Dogbetor during the Accra Hearts of Oak vrs Kotoku Royals MTN FA Cup match became the main subject of discussion after Hearts defeated the Akim Oda-based club 4-0 at the Accra Sports Stadium yesterday.
At Swedru, Kumasi Asante Kotoko needed a second half goal from Baba Mahama to advance to the MTN FA Cup Round of 16 at the expense of second tier side Proud United.
The young midfielder struck his debut goal for the Porcupine Warriors with a superb effort in the 75th minute to break the hearts of Proud United and give the Premiership giants a deserved 1-0 win and a breather after a poor run of results lately.
There were no major upsets in the weekend’s Round of 32 matches as Medeama SC, Bechem United, Elmina Sharks, Liberty Professionals and Berekum Chelsea all advanced at the expense of lower division sides.
In Accra yesterday, rejuvenated Hearts could have won easily without the aid of any party, but moments after referee Dogbetor brought proceedings to an end, spectators started pointing accusing fingers at him and questioning his competence to handle such prestigious matches.
The controversial decisions started in the 20th minute when the referee awarded Hearts a penalty after Royals defender Edward Mensah hacked down Patrick Razak who was in a good position to score at the edge of the box.
Even though the player fell flat outside the box, referee Dogbetor pointed to the spot, a situation that resulted in protests among the Royals players.
Penalty kick expert Vincent Atinga converted easily to put Hearts ahead against the run of play.
Royals accepted the challenge and put more men upfront, attacking from all angles as nimble-footed Kofi Stephen and Dickson Afum combined beautifully and carried the game to Hearts.
In one of their onslaughts in the 32nd minute, Kofi Stephen outsmarted Hearts’ Paul Acquah, entered the box and released the ball to Clement Boateng, but he fumbled and allowed a Hearts defender to clear the ball.
Three minutes later, Hearts showed them how to convert half chances into goals when Kwame Kizito beautifully connected a rebound after goalkeeper Victor Washington spilled Razak’s shot onto the path of Kizito.
As the game wore on, referee Dogbetor created more confusion as he took strange decisions, causing players of both sides to question such decisions. Hearts, however, took total control of the game in the second half after Malik Akowuah was introduced and came close to scoring on many occasions but wasted the chances.
In the 74th minute, Cosmos Dauda connected home a cross from Kizito to increase the tally for Hearts as they continued to probe for more goals.
Two minutes later, Razak received the ball near Royals’ goal area, dribbled his way past a number of defenders before releasing it to Kizito who slotted it into the net. Just before the goal, goalkeeper Washington clashed with Razak who fell into the box.
Strangely, the referee disallowed the goal and rather pointed to the spot before flashing his red card to the Royals shot-stopper for dangerous play. Atinga converted the resultant kick to give Hearts a resounding victory.
In other results, Nea Salamina FC 1-1 Eleven Wonders, Berekum Chelsea 2-0 BA United, Young Wise 1-0 Okyeman Planners, Wa All Stars 2-1 Bolga All Stars, Liberty Professionals 2-1 Uncle 'T' United FC, Emmanuel FC 0-0 Amidaus Professionals [ Amidaus advance 3-2 on penalties], Elmina Sharks 1-1 Bibiani Gold Stars [Sharks advance 3-0 on penalties], Medeama SC 3-0 New Edubiase United, Danbort FC 1-1 Heart of Lions, Bechem United 1-0 Guan. United.