Pundits Corner: Derek Dapaah’s prediction of the week 16 of FCPPL.

FIXTURES FOR WEEK 16 OF FIRST CAPITAL PLUS PREMIER LEAGUE

The First capital plus premier league is back this weekend with the start of the 2nd round. Totalsportsghana's Derek Dapaah gives his predictions to this important weekend of match action.

After a short-break the league bounce back at all centres excluding Hearts of oak vrs Ashanti Gold which has been put on hold due to Hearts  of Oak's continental assignment with Esperance at the Accra Sports Stadium this saturday. There have been lots of shake ups at all the camps of the clubs so an enthusiastic second round is expected with the likes of Edubiase, Olympics and BA United expected to stun their opponents in both  home and away.

I see more success at Aduana and Olympics in this second round

Match:Inter Allies vrs Berekum Chelsea

A real revenge for Inter Allies to make their first match a good account 1/1 at home as their second round begins at their own backyard. Chelsea ended their first round well and they will be hoping to secure a point with the same opponent but i don't see that happening at Tema come sunday. Inter Allies are good at Tema and it is their first match so I don't see them allowing two(2) points or three(3) points going in the hands of their opponent. This match also comes at a time when Berekum chelsea have not won any away match running into three seasons.

Derek predicts: Inter Allies 2 - 0 Berekum Chelsea

Match: Sekondi Hasaacas vrs Bechem United

Another revenge fixture. sekondi Hasaacas will produce alot of goals if the game goes like what is expected of them. the first leg ended in favour of Bechem United who are very strong at home and weak from their away encounters and hasaacas will be looking foward to revenge on their opponent with a cleansheet as well. Bechem must stand to the pressure that will be exerted on them at sekondi, otherwise this fixture might be their worst fixture in the second round. Hasaacs have been on a good run this season at home and they will be aiming to captalize on this run to beat Bechem  Uniited.

Derek predicts: Sekondi Hasaacas 2-1 Bechem United

Match: Aduana vrs Liberty

There's not a lot between these two sides. A simple game for Aduana as well. Liberty has not stood to the occasion so far this season and Aduana will be looking foward to gun them at Dormaa. also, they will be seek for a cleansheet in this game. Liberty have been awful during away games, only a point in their last three away games and they look bad. it is going to be a tough game for them so I can't see them winning, neither drawing but can score a goal or more.

 Derek predicts: Aduana 2-1 Liberty

Match: New Edubiase vrs Olympics

This fixture came at the right time. it is one of the great fixtures to watch this weekend. Olympics are unbeaten in their last five (5) games in the premier league from week 11- and will be willing to continue the climax against the "yen ko nkoaa" boys. a tough game to predict, but both clubs are expected  to rise to the standard of play for the fans not to regret going to the stadium.Olympics are aiming to continue their unbeaten run and the Nuhu twins will aim to continue their first round fine form, a beautiful game will be witnessed by sports enthusiast. i will go for a draw.

Derek predicts: New Edubiase 1-1 Olympics

Match:BA United vrs Medeama SC

BA United is the club all soccer fans will be  looking forward to this second round. they are  expected to pull a lot of surprises and also to give their opponents tough task when they visit thw Coronation park. BA will be looking at this game three(3) weeks ago, they have said "we will win this," because second round we go at it. Medeama poor run at away during the first round is a worry to them and may continue at BA. Leading league marksman Nathaniel Asamoah will hope to increase his tally, but B A will obviously snactch the three points available.

Derek predicts: BA United 1- 0 Medeama SC

WA All Stars vrs WAFA

I think this will be WAFA's title hopes if they go at it, but it won't be easy. WA All Stars are decent at home- they've won five of their seven home games - and their style of play suits it. But its difficult to go against WAFA. They are worthy at where they are- 2nd position and have been outstanding this season, using a fantastic core of a side and creating a winning mentality. It will be good to retain that form and hit the leaders with a lot of pressure for the title; WAFA need a couple of players, as we say every year that the promoters must get some experience players to make the team complete, Wa is very difficult for traveling clubs, and WAFA will meet such toughness.

 derek predicts: WA All Stars 2-0 WAFA

Match:Hearts of Lions vrs Asante Kotoko

Kpando will catch many ears and eye sights this weekendd because Lions will be willing to turn the scores in the first round against the same opponent, 4-0. and it wouldn't be easy to do this, you have to run the entire 90minutes, it would have to take another miracle for the Lion to over turn such deficit. Its obviously going to be the fixture of the week and Asante Kotoko will wish to continue a fine form which ended the first round and their qualification to the quarter final of the FA Cup, this game will be fierstly contested and a draw is expected

Derek predicts: Hearts of Lions 0-0 Asante Kotoko

NUMEROLOGICAL ANALYSIS; GHANA VS ARGENTINA U - 20 WORLD CUP

Ghana goes into her 41st World U-20 World cup match on Tuesday against the tournament's most successful Nation Argentina, in a game that will mean a lot for both countries, both teams failed to pick the three maximum points available on match day 1 when they all drew with Austria and Panama respectively.

Who does the numbers favor?

This Match will be Ghana's 41st match at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, it will also be the 3rd meeting between the two with each side having 1 victory. In the previous 40 matches played, Ghana has won 24, drawn 9 and lost 7, with 72 goals scored and 42 conceded. Argentina on the on the otherhand have played 72 matches, won 52, drawn,6, and lost,14, they have in the process scored, 143 goals and conceded 52.

2nd group Match

Ghana has played six 2nd group matches, winning 3, drawing 2, and losing 1, in the process Ghana has scored 9 goals and conceded 4.

The Month of June

Ghana could not count entirely on the Month of June after their three previous second group matches in the month has ended in 1win, 1 draw and 1 defeat, scored 2 and conceded 1.  In total, Ghana has played 9 times in this month, with 5 wins, 2 draws and 2 loses, whiles having to score 16, and conceding 8. Argentina on the other hand hold an impressive record in the month of June, the South American side have played 15 matches in the Month of June with 10 wins, 1 draw and 4 loses.

Oceania

Ghana's fortunes in the Oceania region does not look too good at the group stage after they drew their first two matches in the 1993 U-20 World cup in Australia, In that tournament Ghana drew their first game 1-1 against Uruguay, and 2-2 with Germany, before winning their last game 2-0 against Portugal. That year Ghana was placed in Group B just as this year, and were runners up in the competition. Argentina was however disqualified from participating in that competition.

head to head

The first time Ghana beat Argentina at the U-20 World cup in the group stage, The South Americans failed to go past the group stage, but the Argentines revenged on home soil with a victory that eventually handed them their 4th trophy.

FIFA U-20 World Cup, New Zealand 2015- Ghana team in Numbers

As Ghana prepare to play in the 20th edition of the FIFA U-20World cup in New Zealand, which is also the 7th time Ghana is playing in the tournament, we take a look into some interesting numbers making the Ghanaian  team.

1- The first African team to win the U-20  trophy
3 - The club with highest player representation (Inter Allies)
6 - The number of times Ghana Has played in the U-20 World cup
8 - The Number of Foreign based players in the team
13- The number of Locally based players in the team
13 - the Number of times Ghana has failed to Qualify  /withdrawn from the U-20 World cup
19.04 - Average age of the Ghanaian team
21- The total number of players making the tournament
27 - The number of teams Ghana Has played in the U-20 World cup
39 -The total number of Matches Ghana has played in the U-20 World cup
17yrs 252 days- Kingsley Fobi is the team's youngest player
20yrs 243day -  Joseph Aidoo is the team's Oldest Player
131cm - Joseph Aidoo is the team's  Shortest Player
198cm- Benjamin Tetteh is the team's  Tallest Player

Ghana's Disgrace in the COSAFA CUP, the result of choosing experience ahead of form

The past two days has not been good for Ghana Football at the continental level after the Local National side where bundled out of the COSAFA CUP, curtesy defeats from lowly rated Madagascar, and Zambia. 
Even though the organisers of the competition respected Ghana by placing the team at the quarter final stage, the team failed to impress, and lost all the two games they played.
It is important to note at this stage that, the results of the two matches and the performance of the team stems from the fact that, the coach in selecting his squad decided to go for players with experience rather than those on form, it is amazing to note why players like Emmanuel Ankobiah of hasaacas, Nuhu fuseini of New Edubiase, Kwame boateng of Great Olympics, Felix annan of WAFA, Frederick Yamoah and Mohammed Sherrif Doe of Inter Allies, and Noah Martey of Bechem United were left out of the team, rather for players who we all know has had their time in the team.

Coach Maxwell Konadu, in fear of his job chose to go for players with experience instead of picking players who are on form in the league, the two defeats Ghana Suffered in the hands of Madagascar and Zambia will now compliment what social commentators have always said about the local players.
The team that went to the COSAFA game where indeed not prepared, these were players who had just finished a first round of a tough league, and needed some time technically to rest. It must be emphasized that it is not for nothing that the league goes on break, this period is necessary for clubs and players to take some rest and reflect on the next round, so those who advised the team to part take in this tournamment must also take a share of the blame, now these same players are returning to play in the second round of the first capital plus premier league.

Coach Maxwell Konadu must now come back home and reflect on the future of the team and his career.

MTN FA CUP QUARTER FINAL; KOTOKO TO PLAY ASHANTIGOLD FC

The battle for the coverted MTN fa cup 2014/2015 trophy continues to get cagey as the draw for the quarter final stage is held.

The quarterfinal draw held in the western region sees defending champions Asante Kotoko having to go through a tough task towards defending their title.

The purcupine warriors would have the opportunity of playing against regional rivals Ashantigold or last year losing finalist Inter Allies, but Kotoko themselves would have to first overcome Real Tamale United in the round of 32 which was postponed, on the other hand, The miners would also have to over come the threat posed by last season finalist Inter Allies.

Accra Hearts of Oak have been paired against division one side Tamale Utrecht in a game that would be played at the Accra Sports Stadium.

Last season losing semi finalist WAFA would wait for the winner of the match between Division two side Great Astronomers and premiership side Medeama SC, the final draw of the quarter final would see eleven wise taking on the winner of Aduana Stars and Istanbul fc, the game which ended abruptly due to the alledged assault on centre referee Patrick Kyeremanteng.

Below is the full pairings :

Hearts vs Tamale Utrecht
Astronomers /Medeama vs WAFA
Aduana/Istanbul vs Wise
Kotoko/RTU vs Ashgold/Inter Allies

Esperance 4-0 Hearts of Oak: Tactical Observation from a Journalist point of View

Accra Hearts of Oak sufferd a 4-0 loss at the hands of Esperance in the first leg final round of the CAF Confederations Cup tie on Sunday. Who is to be blame over-here?

THE COACH:

Herbert Addo must take a chunk of the blame as he got all wrong from the selection of players to the strategy he mapped to the tactics he played. Many Sports Journalist in Afria advised him to close the game than rather opening for fluid fotball, it must be emphasized that, the fluidity of the game never matters at this stage of the competion when you are chassing a qualification.

It sad to believe that Herbert is not proving his coaching skills well, he is not proving as the coach known for conceeding 17 goals in 30 league matches at Aduana.

North African teams are always known of their 1st 30 minutes of football with a goal or more which allows them to win the game before the second half begins, so what prevented Herbert Addo from closing the game rather than opening with this naive players. Herbert Addo could have Closed the game with a 5-4-1 formation rather than the 4-4-1-1 (4-4-2) which made him concede that whooping scoreline. Hearts of Oak needs a video analyst to do some of these jobs, rather than conceed such cheap goals in the future.

 THE PLAYERS:
It seems the players were having fun because to  some, it was their first time in Tunis, while others had never played under flood lights before amongs other things. The commitment level of the players was low, as compared to their opponents. They played as if they were training with some experience  players.The wide men in the game lost their positions, midfielders were out played and couldn't even possess the ball or swing two-three passes. The defenders where caught perfectly for
their inexperience marking, very poor that that and had to be punished dramatically. Awful position was the front-line, both strikers were Poor than any of the players that day. All the players must step up in the return leg or say  bye bye to this competition.

Now, how can you turn 4:0 to 5:0 at Accra Sports Stadium in this modern day football with these inexperience players. The hearts of oak management claim they have youthful team but their inability to possess the ball in the game make one wonder why.I will be happy if there is a miracle but I am not seeing that happening. At this stsgr every Ghanaian will expect a miracle for Hesrts to qualify. To this end,  Ghanaians will not buy any excuses. It is rather ironic hkw the hearts of oak team went into the game with so much confidence, knowing very well they were the weaker side in the game, come two weeks time, we shall witness how the Never-say-die club will bounce back, if not to qualify  at all, to redeem the name of Ghana.

By: Derek Dapaah

Travelling Distance covered by Ghana League Clubs

A study conducted by GhFootballFacts has confirmed that Premier League side Wa All Stars has the longest traveling  distance in the league with a total traveling distance of  10,797.5 miles across the other 15 league sides who are scatted on the map of Ghana, this  means Wa All stars cover an average of  359.9 miles Per an away game,  with the longest journey being their trips to Kpando which covers a total of 489.2 miles a journey that takes them 10 h 29 min by road. Their shortest trip in the league is their journey to Sunyani where B A United are based, with a traveling distance of  219.4 miles, that involves a traveling time of 4:30min. The three visits of Wa All Stars to Accra alone (2552.7miles) is more than the entire first round journey made by Liberty Professionals (1375.4miles). It is more interesting to note that the first round journey of Wa All Stars in the league (5908.8miles) is more than the entire seasonal journey of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, whose geographical location places them as the least traveling side in the league with a total traveling distance of 4129.3miles, the longest journey Kumasi Asante Kotoko embarks is to Wa which covers (278.3miles), with their journey to Obuasi (37.4miles) being the shortest journey

In the first round of the league, Liberty Professionals  made the least travels with a distance of 1375.4miles, having had most of the teams in the Northern belt of the country visiting the Dasoman Liberty Stadium, They are followed by Asante Kotoko with a traveling distance of 1410.5 miles.

Teams like Aduana Stars  (4134.8miles), Kpando Heart of Lions (3913.8 miles),and B A United ( 3154.0miles) are some of the clubs who crossed the 3106.8miles mark in the first round of the league

With the expected return of the league for the second round, it is projected that Wa All Stars will still travel the longest distance of 4888.9 miles with their journey to Kpando as the longest, they will also make journeys to Sekondi, and Kumasi, newly promoted WAFA must brace themselves as they will follow as the second team to have the most travels, they are expected to make a traveling distance of 3669.0 miles with trips to Wa, Dormaa, Tarkwa, and Obuasi. Liberty Professionals are third on the Rader with a projected traveling distance of 3424.6 miles, Liberty did not travel beyond the southern belt in the first round, except for their  game against Asante Kotoko, they will visit all the Brong Ahafo clubs, Plus Wa, and Obuasi.

New Edubiase will save more fuel in the second round with the least  journey distance totaling 1734.6 miles. Inter Allies will also not travel much with a projected traveling distance of 1570.2 miles.

Below is the total distance covered by all 16 premier league clubs, and analysis for both first and second round:

1. Wa  All stars Total : 17,377.4km 1st round - 9509.4km  2nd round - 7868km

2. Heart of lions Total: 11463.8km  1st round- 6298.8km  2nd round- 5165km

3. Aduana stars Total: 10092.2km 1st round- 6654.4km   2nd round- 3437.8km

4. WAFA Total: 9790.4km   1st  round - 3885.6km  2nd round- 5904.8km

5. Berekum Chelsea Total : 9166.2km   1st round - 4149.4km     2nd round - 5016.8km

6. Sekondi Hasaacas Total : 8769.6km  1st round - 4558.6km    2nd round - 4211km

7. Medeama SC Total : 8746.4km 1st round -  4034.2km   2nd round -  4712.2km

8. BA UNITED total : 8279.8km   1st round - 5076km   2nd round -  3202km

9. Hearts of Oak Total: 7725km 1st round - 3422.6km   2nd round - 4302.4km

10. Great Olympics  Total: 7725km 1st round - 3275km   2nd round - 4450km

11. Liberty Professionals Total: 7725km 1st round - 2213.6km 2nd round - 5511.4km

12. Inter Allies Total: 7493.8km  1st round - 4966.4km   2nd round 2527.4km

13. Bechem United Total : 7557.2km    1st round 2473km  2nd round - 5084.2km

14. New Edubiase Total : 7105.8km 1st round - 4314.2km   2nd round -  2791.6km

15. Ashantigold Total : 7105.8km 1st round - 3418.2km  2nd round- 3687.6km

16. Asante Kotoko Total - 6645.6km 1st round - 2270km  2nd round - 4375.6km