Olympics 1-1 Hearts: Spoils shared in thrilling Mantse derby

Great Olympics and Hearts of Oak drew 1-1 in a thrilling derby which climaxed match-day 28 of the 2020/21 Ghana Premier League derby Sunday night.

The Phobians started the brighter side, opening the Mantse derby with high intensity which caused a couple of problems for the hosts at the Accra Sports Stadium.

Kwadwo Obeng Jnr. had a couple of chances early in the first half, with two headers, one which was comfortably saved by the Olympics goalkeeper Benjamin Asare and the other which went narrowly wide.

Hearts had a legitimate goal not given them in the 23rd minute. Striker Isaac Mensah saw his powerful shot from distance come off the crossbar with the ball landing behind the line but referee Rustum Senorgbe, without the benefit of goal-line technology, failed to spot it and waved for play to continue.

The Phobians continued to dominate the first half and should have taken the lead in a melee but Mensah, this time,  failed to trouble the Olympics goalkeeper with a tame effort from close range.

Obeng Jnr. went close again on the stroke of halftime but his near post shot just crept wide.

The first half of the Mantse Derby ended with a 0-0 equality.

Hearts continued to search for the opening goal in the second half and were finally rewarded for their efforts after 6 minutes when midfielder Emmanuel Nettey fired into rooftop after Salifu Ibrahim’s corner was palmed out by Asare.

The Olympics shot-stopper picked up an injury in the leadup to the goal and had to be substituted by Stephen Kwaku after 5 minutes of treatment on the pitch.

Hearts continued to dominate and came very close to doubling their lead but Isaac Mensah somehow missed from 3 yards after the Olympics initially parried away an Afriyie Barnieh shot.

Olympics slowly started gaining a foothold on the game, with captain and talisman Gladson Awako at the heart of things.

The Dade boys grabbed the equalizer against the run of play when Maxwell Abbey Quaye stole ahead of his marker to head home Kwabena Boateng’s cross after an uncharacteristic mistake from Hearts’ Raddy Ovouka.

Hearts continued to push for the winner and were almost punished on a counter-attack when Olympics forward Manan Mudasiru dribbled past goalkeeper Richard Attah but awfully struck wide.

The 1-1 stalemate means Hearts of Oak, despite tying on 50 points with arch-rivals Asante Kotoko after 28 matches each, continue their stay atop the league standings by virtue of superior goal difference.

📸🗣| The Standings after 8 matches of #GPLwk28:

– @HeartsOfOakGH stay top of the table but tie on points, 50, with arch-rivals @AsanteKotoko_SC.

– @LegonCitiesFC vs @InterAlliesFC on Monday night.

.#FootyGPL | https://t.co/cOdDhcSTGq | pic.twitter.com/QuypZfrdxy

— Footy-Ghana.com 🇬🇭 (@FootyGhana) June 6, 2021