The Ghana version of El Classico between Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak billed to be a titanic battle turned out to be a near one way traffic with Kotoko beating Hearts in all departments of the game.

The 2-0 win for Kotoko was no where near the 5-0 thumping Barcelona dished out to Real Madrid in the original El Classico but this was due to some lethargic marksmanship by Kotoko at certain stages of the game.
Hearts experienced goalkeeper Sammy Adjei also contributed to the low scoreline as on at least three occasions he had to dash out of his post like a cat to save real sticky situations.

Hearts seriously lacked ideas in this well attended match at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra. They found the striking partnership of Ahmed Toure and Alex Asamoah too hot to handle, no wonder they were two goals down within the first 19 minutes.

Hearts strategy of playing it hard in the second half surprisingly appeared to have the sanction of Ho- based referee Solomon Mordey who ignored several crunch tack lings much to the discomfiture of even the neutrals at the stadium.

A remark by one radio commentator that the referee needed some tutorials from either Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger aptly summed up his performance. I have never seen Kotoko display such absolute sportsmanship in the face of such crude tactics by Hearts and the awful decisions by the referee.  You can hardly see such contrasting styles between Hearts and Kotoko.

Whilst Kotoko tried  to play football Hearts relied on brute strength which only yielded more than a dozen corner kicks that were all  woefully wasted.  Kotoko moved with precision, easily penetrating the Hearts defence on numerous occasions but a little bit of selfish play by some of the lead strikers and brilliant goalkeeping by Sammy Adjei prevented a goal harvest.

This victory will give Kotoko some more confidence to remain in the top four whilst Hearts still languish in the middle belt. Despite the defeat however, it was a good pay day for Hearts as the stadium was filled to capacity and being the home team, they will be laughing all the way to the bank.

What this Kotoko- Hearts match has proved is that the two teams hold the key to the success of the league. They pull the crowd. It is only when their disappointed fans fail to show up that gives the impression of a dull league. With Kotoko's current form and the desire of Hearts to catch up, the rest of the season should be exciting.

Those who were praying for the end of the Kotoko- Hearts duopoly in Ghana football may be revising their notes. It looks like the absence of these giants on the international scene is affecting Ghana's image in CAF competitions.

Ghana has lost the privilege of having four teams in Africa and to add confusion to disbelief Ghana’s two representatives in Africa this year, Aduana Stars and Ashgold have flopped like mad. Aduana were whipped by WAC of Morocco and Ashgold have lost 3-0 to Etoile Sahel in Tunis and are awaiting the second leg at Obuasi.

Meanwhile, the most unlikely 2-0 defeat of runaway leaders Berekum Chelsea by bottom club BA Stars in the premier league have set the rumour mill talking about a match of convenience. BA Stars are firmly rooted at the bottom table whilst Berekum Chelsea has more than 13 points to spare.

It is therefore easy to suggest that it was" Brong Ahafo Solidarity" that gave BA Stars the victory which however is only small comfort.

At any rate, no matter  how you look at  there are exciting times ahead  as Ghana prepare to meet England in the first international match between  the two natural allies in London on March 29.

Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.