Hearts of Oak tightened their grip at the top of the Premier League B table at the expense of Ebusua Dwarfs at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium in the NC Special Competition on Sunday afternoon.
Albert Hammond raced the Crabs into an early lead but Christopher Bonney pecked the scoring for Kim Grants through a beautifully converted penalty kick midway through the first-half.
Promising youngster Abdul Manaf Umar Gumar Jnr. latched on to an intelligently calibrated pass from Bonney to beat the Dwarfs keeper to win the game 2-1 for the Phobians.
Hearts have moved to 22 points after matchday 10, a point better their Matchday 11 opponents Karela United who posted a 2-0 home win over WAFA at the Cosby Awuah Memorial Park.
Kim Grant welcomed Bonney back into his start line up after the right-back missed the Liberty game due to yellow card accumulation. Kwadwo Obeng Jnr was dropped from the squad entirely.
Dwarfs coach Robert Asibo assembled experienced players in place of youth as he handed starting berths to Albert Hammond, Kingsley Nteng, Albert Gaise, former Ghana youth international Isaac Donkor and Stephen Bentil.
It was Dwarfs who made early impact when an unmarked Hammond flighted into the air to direct a header past Richmond Ayi into the Hearts post on the 5th minute mark.
Hearts responded when a beautiful exchange of passes in midfield set Michelle Sarpong on goal but the youngster was felled inside the box as center referee Benjamin Sefa pointed to the spot.
Having missed two of his last two penalty attempts in the competition Joseph Esso paved way for Bonney and the enterprising lateral defender dispatched the kick with some expertise sending the Dwarfs keeper the wrong way.
Both sides probed and asked questions of each other but the scoring opportunity couldn’t turn into goals before the first stanza was closed but Hearts slightly had the upper hand.
The second half didn’t travel long before Hearts treated the fans on attendance to some breathtaking football display which resulted in a cheeky lob from Manaf Gumar. Bonney applied a delirious control with his ankle, motioned through the center before sending a through pass with the out step of his favourite right foot. The midair flighted ball dropped to Manaf who was onside. The onrushing Dwarfs keeper got stranded and remained rooted to his spot as he watched the dinked ball flew overheads before landing in the yawning net.
Manaf perpetrated of his repertoire of intelligent knack at picking his spot.
The rest of the game remained a 50-50 contest and both Dwarfs and Hearts recorded chances but were unable to convert.
Ugly scenes were recorded at the final whistle as home fans invaded the pitch and attacked the visitors officially accredited cameraman and the match officials.
Dwarfs XI: Solomon Okudzeto, Albert Hammond ⚽, Albert Gaise, Isaac Donkor, Kingsley Nteng, Stephen Bentil, Simon Martey, Danso Wiredu, Abu Alebke, Mohammed Osman, Jacob Ampratwum.
Hearts XI: Richmond Ayi, Christopher Bonney ⚽, William Dankyi, Robert Addo, Mohammed Alhassan, Benjamin Afutu, Daniel Kodie, Michelle Sarpong, Abdul Manaf Umar Gumar Jnr ⚽, Joseph Esso, Fatawu Mohammed.
Credit: ncspecialcompetition.com
