Accra Hearts of Oak might be in for the double domestic trophy this season as they lie first on the 2020/21 Ghana Premier League log and in the MTN FA Cup round 16. Hearts of Oak lead rivals, Asante Kotoko by three points from 32 matches. Hearts of Oak, have 60 points as against Kotoko’s 57 with just two matches remaining to conclude the season. Hearts of Oak have won the league for 20 times, that is three less than rivals, Asante Kotoko who are the record holders.
The Phobians, who are the record holders of the FA Cup with 10 trophies will head into the FA Cup round 16 on Wednesday, July 7 at the Dawu Park. The Phobians play lower tier side, Accra Young Wise at 3:00pm. The Phobians beat Liberty Professionals 3-0 in the Round of 64 before pummeling Windy Professionals 4-1 in the Round of 32. Hearts of Oak coach, Samuel Boadu has done a yeoman’s job after shaping his team into now almost league title winners. Many did not give the Phobians a dog’s chance to go closer to the 2020/21 Ghana Premier League but they are just three points away from claiming it after gathering 60 points from 32 matches with two games to end the season.
The closest Hearts of Oak have come to the FA Cup was in 2017. The Phobians unfortunately lost out to their bitterest rivals, Asante Kotoko in the finals. Kotoko punished Hearts of Oak 3-1 at the Tamale Sports Stadium to prevent Hearts of Oak from winning their eleventh FA Cup trophy. It was the year the Phobians lost close to nine of their key players on a free who played in the defeat to Kotoko in the finals at the Tamale Sports Stadium.
Hearts of Oak will play in the CAF Champions League if they win the 2020/21 Ghana Premier League. The 20 times Ghana Champions won the CAF Champions League in the year 2000 after beating Tunisia giant, Esperance and will want to return to Africa to make an impact ones again. In the following year, Hearts of Oak shocked Africa once again to win the CAF Super Cup. They defeated Egypt club, Zamalek 2-0 at the Kumasi Sports Stadium. Three years after beating Zamalek 2-0 to win the 2001 CAF Super Cup, they produced a stunning performance enroute to winning the CAF Confederation Cup. The victory was over domestic rivals, Asante Kotoko where the game ended 8-7 on penalties after the two legs produced a 2-2 score line. The Phobians added what was termed the virgin cup to their wardrobe. The CAF Confederation Cup meant the Phobians now have all trophies on the continent, domestic league, CAF Champions League and Confederation Cups ahead of Kotoko.
The MTN FA Cup will provide the platform to qualify for the CAF Confederation Cup if they win it. Hearts of Oak coach, Samuel Boadu will not want to take chances because the Premier League is not a done deal with two matches to end the season. He would want to win the FA Cup as well should they fail to claim the Premier League title. The question however remains, will Hearts of Oak be able to win the double, that is the league and the FA Cup this season? Until the MTN FA Cup clash against Accra Lions is cleared, we can not determine because there are other games to be played as well with Kotoko still in the competition.
