Sports

Hearts leave Accra to finish off preparation for season

Twenty-time Ghana Premier League champions, Accra Hearts of Oak, will today trek to the Central Regional town of Abreshia to begin the second and final phase of their preparations for the upcoming season, expected to kick-start from November 13.

Abreshia is located at a suburb of Elmina and houses the Glow Lamp Academy – owned by former FIFA Under-17 World Cup winner, Nii Ordartey Lamptey.  The facility will play host to the Phobians for the next 17 days as they look to smoothen the rough edges during their preparations.

This players and technical team members were expected to go through their Covid-19 tests yesterday.

The team’s relocation is to ensure that the Phobians get enough concentration time to fine-tune their squad ahead of the season opening clash with Dormaa Aduana Stars at the Dormaa Park on November 15.

For the past three weeks, Hearts have been holding physical drills sessions under the watchful eyes of some physical instructors and head coach Edward Nii Odoom.

On Monday, the team started ball work, engaging a local lower tier side at their training base in Kuntunse.

After the game, Coach Nii Odoom told the Times Sports that over the period, he and his backroom staff have been working on the physical fitness of the playing body,  physique and pace.

“It’s been three weeks of pure physical work and I must say I’m very happy with the physical appearance of my boys. What we are left with is team organisation and team shaping, and we would be ready for the first game against Aduana Stars.

“The boys have been going about their training regime with the perfect attitude; one that smells of hunger and determination and for me this is just the right way to kick-start our preparations.”

According to him, his team is about 60 per cent ready for the battle ahead, adding that by the time they are done in Abreshia and the whistle is finally blown for the start of the league, his charges would be ready to run riot and lay claim to the club’s 21st league title.

Having assured fans of the rainbow club of success in the coming season, he reiterated his earlier statement that Hearts would this season break the jinx of not winning the title over the last decade.

Coach Nii Odoom will be without one of his trusted lieutenants – Daniel Barnieh Afriyie, who is in camp in Prampram, skippering the national Under-20 ahead of their upcoming WAFU Under-20 tournament.

The coach will, however, have highly-rated striker FC Samartex Victor Kweku Aidoo who signed for the club last week, alongside returnee Patrick Razak together with Isaac Mensah, Abednego Tetteh, Danjuma Ademola Kuti, Eric Dizan and Auroras protégé Franklyn Owusu – who are all in the reckoning to fill the void created by the departure of Kofi Kordzi and Joseph Esso.

BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY

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