Hearts of Oak Head Coach, Kim Grant has hit out at Liberty Professionals for their approach in Wednesday’s clash between the two which ended goalless.
Liberty played the entire second half with a man down after defender Michael Enu was sent off on the stroke of half time for bringing down Joseph Esso, who was through on goal.
In a game where Hearts squandered numerous goal scoring opportunities, including a penalty by Esso, Liberty ultimately resorted to delay tactics to distort the rhythm of Hearts, much to the frustration of the Hearts faithful.
“In the end I’m a little ashamed of how they were rolling around in the second half just to delay, but we have to be more clinical and ruthless in front of goal,” he said.
“I’m disappointed. It is like they have won a cup final, while we feel like we have lost the game.
“It was obvious they came here to defend, and it shows teams now know what we’re about, so they come here and simply try to get a point,” he added.
But Liberty Professionals Head Coach Reginald Asante Boateng has defended his side, insisting he has no regrets about what happened.
Playing the entire second half with a man down, Asante Boateng, aka Reggae, admitted he was not a fan of such a philosophy, but says the situation in the game necessitated it.
“I have to say it is not my style to delay in a game, but the situation demanded it so we had to just draw a strategy to kill the tie,” he said.
“I’m not going to apologize for that display. The Hearts fans need to understand that football does not always give you what you want,” he added.
Liberty will host Elmina Sharks on Sunday in their next game of the competition while Hearts trek to Cape Coast to face Dwarfs.
