It has been a week since Hearts of Oak's gutsy performance in a 2-0 win over Medeama S.C in Tarkwa. The euphoria has died down. But for a few hours
It has been a week since Hearts of Oak’s gutsy performance in a 2-0 win over Medeama S.C in Tarkwa.
The euphoria has died down. But for a few hours, the Phobians were on top of the world.
Drunk with excitement, Hearts cloaked themselves with a feeling of invincibility. When Kotoko lost to Heart of Lions forty-eight hours later, there was even more to celebrate.
As the Alchemist Isaac Newton uncovered, whatever goes up must come down.
And so, here we are, eight days later, with every Phobian down from the high of Friday’s win and stripped of whatever false impressions left by that performance.
Hearts secured an impressive 2-0 win over Medeama S.C in Tarkwa last Friday
Sunday’s win was only their third in nine league games. In that time, Hearts have won three, drawn three, and suffered three defeats, scoring six and conceding five in nine outings.
That means Aboubakar Ouattara’s men have averaged a win every three games. That is to say that Hearts are yet to record back-to-back wins this season.
Even when they played consecutive league matches at home, Hearts could only manage a point from two games; drew 0-0 with Dreams FC before losing 0-1 to Gold Stars.
Their record at home is not great either. The 2-0 win over Bechem United in September, is their only home win this season. They lost twice – 0-1 to debutants Basake Holy Stars, 0- to Gold Stars, and drew 0-0 with a ten-man Aduana Stars match.
To find their most recent consecutive wins, you would have to go as far back as March 3, 2024. The team won 3-0 against RTU and beat Nsoatreman FC 2-1 at the Nana Amoah Koromansah Park.
At the start of the season, the excuse for the inconsistent displays was that coach Aboubakar Ouattara had yet to figure out his best team.
That is no longer the case.
After flirting with a midfield partnership of Raphael Amponsah and Salim Adams, Ouattara has settled on Theophilus Collinson as his midfield anchor. Further up the pitch, Hussein Mohammed, Sani Mohammed, and either, Ramzy Yussif, Salim Adams, or Raphael Amponsah as the supporting cast for the front pair of Hamza Issa and Kwabena Boateng Afriyie.
Hearts coach Ouattara has settled on a core of 16 players, limiting opportunities to the rest of the squad
At the back, Kelvin Osei-Assibey and Samuel Amofah have started every match together in central defense. Even on the flanks, injuries, and suspensions are the only reasons names other than Ransford Mensag and Yahaya Adraman have had game time.
Ouattara has settled on his preferred team. If the methods and personnel are any good, it should reflect in sustainably improved performances and results from here on.
On paper, Vision F.C. is exactly the kind of club Hearts enjoy playing against.
Since 2021, the Phobians have amassed 19 points out of 24, from home matches against league debutants.
What’s more, the league debutants are winless in four consecutive games.
If you look beyond the past month, the numbers are not any better. Vision F.C. has a total of 11 points from nine games. That is approximately 1.23 points per game.
Vision F.C (in mauve and yellow) have struggled for consistency all season
They have also conceded more goals (six) than they have scored (seven).
In August, the arrival of Issah Akukah (not Kukah) was heralded as a solution to the team’s goalscoring problems. However, nine games into the season, Akukah has yet to score. Even though he has only missed two games, Akukah has not had the desired impact.
Without his goals, Vision F.C. has been forced to rely on Emmanuel Kyei Baffour. The mercurial midfielder has kicked on from a stellar 2022/23 season, where he won the club’s Player of the Season.
Kyei Baffour has scored two goals (33.3% of the club’s six goals) this season.
Happier times: Kyei Baffour was named the club’s player of the season after making 30 appearances en route to securing Premier League qualification
Last month, he was unsurprisingly named as the club’s player of the month.
While there was none more deserving, the team has become painfully reliant on their captain.
If Vision is to make progress, that needs to stop. The match-winning and goal-scoring responsibility has to be assumed by others. None more so than the club’s big-money summer signing, Issah Akukah.
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