Karela United yesterday put up a buoyant performance to earned a deserved 2-2 result against Ashantigold at the Len Clay Stadium on match day one of the Ghana Premier League.
Diawisie Taylor shot the visitors ahead with an impressive strike five minutes into the game, but the home side hit back twice before recess through Appiah McCarthy and Hans Kwofie in the 22nd and 44th minutes, respectively. However, substitute Samuel Ofori’s low shot in the 59th minute ensured that the points was split at the end.
The ‘Miners’ received a rude awakening as they struggled to settle in the early exchanges when Karela’s danger man Taylor latched onto a welcome pass from midfield to deliver a low drive that put Karela in an unlikely lead.
After the goal, Karela shored their play and exhibited a high sense of confidence that revolved around former Kotoko midfielder Umar Bashiru, floating around passes that the Miners found difficult to intercept.
Three minutes later, Appiah McCarthy punished Karela for the miss when he powered a deflected free-kick to draw level for his side.
The ‘homesters’ were forced into early substitutions that saw the introduction of Michael Enu and Eric Esso who replaced Samed Ibrahim and Mark Agyekum, respectively, as both sustained injuries.
The substitutions injected urgency into the play of the Miners, propelling them to take the lead on the stroke of half-time with striker Hans Kwofie beating the backline of Karela to nod an Abdul Bashiru cross past Karela goalie Yaw Fufuro.
After the recess, the Miners seemed eager to seal the win with David Abagna and Appiah McCathy coming close. They were caught unguarded in the process when substitute Samuel Ofori pounced on Umar Bashiru’s pass to score to gain a point for his side.
BY NANA BENTSI ODURO
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