On this day 1 April 1960 (Exactly 60 years ago today) Kumasi Asante Kotoko beat Kumasi Cornerstones 3 – 0 in their last League match of the season at the Kumasi Sports Stadium to win their first league title. This was the second edition of the Ghana football League, and this was the season Kotoko earned the tag “Fabulous ” by the media.
On the whole the 1959/1960 National League season was a great one for the Kumasi Clubs because both the champions and the runners -up came from Kumasi which Mr Ohene Djan once described as “Ghana’s soccer power station “.
Cornerstones had attempted to be the first Club in Ghana to win the “DOUBLE ” after winning the FA Cup, and before they met Kotoko for the last match of the season , both clubs were level on points, with 20 points each.
Here are extracts from Sam Boohene’s report which appeared in the Daily Graphic on the match:
“Asante Kotoko are this year’s soccer League Champions. They beat the F. A. Cup holders Kumasi Cornerstones 3 – 0 in their last League match at the new Kumasi Sports Stadium yesterday to win the much coveted trophy.
“The first half ended in a goal- less draw, but Kotoko came with greater determination during the second half and thrilled the packed house with their usual “hush hush ” moves which gave them an easy 3 – 0 victory over their rivals with only 20 minutes to full time… “
Scorers were Baba Yara, Wilberforce Mfum, Kwame Adarkwa
THE 1959/60 FINAL LEAGUE TABLE
Asante Kotoko 23
Cornerstones 20
Hearts of Oak 17
Hasaacas 16
Olympics 15
Vipers 10
Dwarfs 6
Eleven wise 6
Elsewhere;
On this day 1 April 2001 (Exactly 19 years ago today) Angola won the Africa Youth Championship after denying Ghana a second successive title in the final of the Under-20 Nations Cup in Ethiopia.
Two second-half goals by Lourenço Tomás Cuxixima “Lolo” were enough to dethrone Ghana, who were the favourites to retain the title they won at home in 1999.
Match Summary
Ghana 0-2 Angola
Referee: Reda Beltagy (Egypt)
Attendance: 25000
Scorers: Tomas Lourenco “Lolo” 57’,85’
Best Eleven Players of the 12th African Youth Championship
01.Mamona Joao “Lama” Angola
03.Aboul Magd Mustafa Egypt
04.Mofokeng Gabriel South Africa
04.Hussien Amien Egypt
02.Mbeng Luc Cameroon
02.Muntary Ali Ghana
10.Boateng Derrick Ghana
08.Wael Reyad Egypt
11.Oduro Stephen Ghana
10.Manuel Pedro “Mantorras” Angola
11.El Yamany Mohamed
On this day 1 April 2001 (Exactly 19 years ago today) Kumasi Asante Kotoko retained the Guinness Gala trophy, overpowering arch-rivals Accra Hearts of Oak by a lone goal in the final match played at the Accra Stadium.
The victory was secured from an expertly taken freekick by Godwin Ablordey in the third minute.
It was a well-deserved victory for Kotoko as they remained the only side to get to the final by winning all their matches in regular time except the quarter-final match which they won 3-0 on penalties against Dawu Youngsters. They won their other matches against Okwawu who they beat 2-0 at the preliminary stage and won 1-0 against Hasaacas in the semi-finals.
Hearts, who paraded a relatively new side, on their way to the final, beat city-rivals Olympics 4-1 on penalties and advanced with victories over Ghapoha and Goldfields, all by courtesy of the tie-breaking shootout in the quarter and semi-finals, respectively.
The unexciting nature of the game was further marred by bouts of indiscipline by some Hearts players and then management member , Thomas Okine, who ordered his players off the field for perceived injustice against the Phobians immediately after FIFA referee Alex Quartey gave Bernard Dong-Bortey the marching-off order in the 17th minute.
This created a hold-up as security personnel and other Hearts executives managed to calm down an all-guns-blazing Okine who had stormed the field in anger. Kotoko took charge of the game and never took the foot off the accelerator, displaying better co-ordination and enthusiasm that enabled them to discover the right recipe and carry the Guinness Gala cup back to Kumasi .
On this day 1 April 2006 (Exactly 14 years ago today) The second leg match of the CAF Champions league between Accra Hearts of Oak and St George FC of Ethiopia at the Obuasi Len Clay Stadium came to an abrupt end inside the additional time of the first half when the visitors refused to continue play in protest against a penalty awarded to Hearts.
Hearts Bernard Don Bortey, who played an inspirational game had put the Phobians two goals ahead at the time of the incident.
He gave Hearts the lead through a penalty in the 30th minute and followed up eight minutes into injury time with an intelligent indirect free kick awarded to Hearts inside the 18 yard box.
As the first half was about to end, referee Aunguudissou Crespin from Benin who had already incurred the displeasure of the visitors as a result of his decisions awarded another penalty against the Ethiopian side.
The referee’s decision sent both players and officials of St. George into wild protest and refusal to continue play and after several minutes of their unyielding stand, the referee whistled for the end of the game.
Immediately the referee whistled for the end of the game at that time, the Hearts players, some of them holding their jerseys run towards their supporters in a mood of sweet jubilation.
The frustration of the Ethiopians started in the early minutes of the game when the referee started booking them for the least offence. By the 15th minute three of their players, including skipper Mulualew Regasa had been shown the yellow card.
Hearts who were determined to cancel the four-goal deficit they suffered in Ethiopia two weeks earlier , threw everything into the game and could have earned early goals but over ambition and over exaggeration upfront denied them the much needed lead.
By the fifth minute, the Phobians had wasted a free kick just outside the “18” yard box followed by two quick corner kicks. A golden opportunity fell in the eighth minute for Hearts but Francis Bossman’s feeble shot at goal was cleared by an Ethiopian defender. Hearts wasted two corner kicks in the 13th and 25th minutes as Don Bortey’s header to the second kick flew over the bar.
In the 30th minute, St George paid dearly for their defensive-minded game as Moses Andoh was fouled in the 18 to give Hearts the first penalty, which was neatly converted by Don Bortey.
On this day 1 April 2003 (Exactly 17 years ago today) Former Senegal striker El Hadji Diouf became only the third player in more than three decades to win the African Footballer of the Year award in successive years after being named as the 2002 winner.
Then Liverpool striker, who received the Confederation of African Football (CAF) award at its annual dinner, joined Abedi Pele of Ghana and Liberian George Weah as the only players to retain the trophy since the award was started in 1970.
Diouf finished ahead of his Senegal team mate Pape Bouba Diop of Lens, who scored the opening goal of 2002 FIFA World World Cup finals against France
Third was Egyptian striker Ahmed Hossam, who had moved from Ajax Amsterdam in the Netherlands to Celta Vigo in Spain.
Diouf said the award deserved to go to the Senegal team, who reached the World Cup quarter-finals in South Korea and Japan.
Senegal were runaway winners of most categories, taking the Team of the Year title and seeing former coach Bruno Metsu named Coach of the Year, also for a second successive year.
Metsu left Senegal after the World Cup to work in the United Arab Emirates.
Tony Sylva of Monaco, who was ever present for Senegal at the World Cup and the African Nations Cup finals, was named Goalkeeper of the Year.
On this day 1 April 2001 (Exactly 19 years ago today) Roy Keane deliberately fowled and inflicted a knee injury on Alf Inge Haaland in the Manchester derby. The injury ultimately ended Haaland’s career.
Keane later admitted in his biography that the fowl was a revenge for Haaland claiming Keane was faking injury when the Manchester skipper damaged his cruciate ligament tackling the Norwegian in 1997.
On this day 1 April 1995 (Exactly 25 years ago today) Sheffield Wednesday were beaten
7- 1 at home by Ncottingham Forest in a Premier League match.
Goals Scored
Sheff Wed
Mark Bright (52 pen)
N. Forest
Stuart Pearce (17)
Ian Woan (20)
Bryan Roy (48,68)
Stan Collymore (78,80)
Lars Bohinen (85)
BY: GEORGE ‘Alan Green’ MAHAMAH