GPL match preview: Hearts of Oak face Ashgold in a crunch week 21 clash

Hearts of Oak will be looking to get back on the winning track when they host AshantiGold in the Ghana Premier League at Accra Stadium on Sunday night.

The game kicks off at 18:30 local time because earlier in the day the Black Maidens will meet their Senegalese counterparts in the second leg of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup first qualifying round at the same venue.

The Phobians are looking to put their disappointing performance at Dormaa behind them and beat the Miners for the first in the league since 2017. Hearts have gone six league games without a win against Ashgold.

The Phobias lost 1-0 to the Aduana Stars last Sunday, a hugely disappointing result that widened the gap between them and leaders Asante Kotoko. The Hearts trail Kotoko by 15 points but their coach Samuel Boadu insists the defending champions are not out of the title race.

“The title race is not yet over,” Boadu told StarTimes after the Aduana game.

“This is football, the boys played well but were not able to convert their chances,” he added.

Goal scoring is one of Hearts’ problems. They have not been clinical, causing them to drop a lot of points. Their top scorer Kofi Korzi, who has scored seven goals, has fallen out of favour with Boadu in recent weeks.

Hearts have registered scored 18 goals, below the combined total of Kotoko forward duo Mbella Etouga (14) and Mfeuge Georges Omgba (6).

With Boadu's trust, Daniel Afriyie Barnieh (3 goals) and Kwadwo Obeng Jr (2 goals) need to step up and score the goals, starting against Ashgold

Ashgold are slightly more confident after ending a string of poor results with a 2-0 win over King Faisal last weekend. Ashgold desperately needed this win as they were getting close to the relegation zone.

They haven’t been impressive, but last weekend’s win could be a turning point for them this season. They will put up a strong performance on Sunday, which is usually the case when they face a big team.

After winning the first leg 2-0 earlier this season, the Miners are aiming for a double against Hearts.