Isaac Mensah’s goal has given Hearts of Oak a slender 1-0 advantage over Wydad Club Athletic in their 2021/22 Caf Champions League group stage playoffs first leg game.
The only goal of the game came late in the first half at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The return fixture will be played in Morocco at the Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca on October 24, 2021.
The game started with a lot of pace and intensity, especially from Wydad. Hearts of Oak goalkeeper Richard Attah was forced to make some valuable stops in the first 15 minutes.
All the early chances came the way of the Moroccan side, but the Ghana champions were smart at the back to clear their lines.
Hearts of Oak saw a penalty appeal turned down in the 36th minute after goalkeeper Ahmed Reda brought down Daniel Afriyie in the box.
Mensah opened the scoring for the host with a sliding finish from close-range after feeding on a superb left-side cross from Salifu Ibrahim three minutes to the end of the first half.
Kofi Kordzi produced a great drive from the left side of the box, but Reda was equal to the task and parried it to safety in the 59th minute.
A lot of chances fell the way of Hearts of Oak from the 65th minute, but they were unable to make use of them.
Wydad got the equalizer in the 93rd minute but the flag was up for an offside.
Mensah’s first-half effort was enough to secure Hearts of Oak a 1-0 win over the two-time African champions at the final whistle.
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