League Report of Monday, 12 April 2010

Source: GNA

Arsenal halts Olympics' Premiership survival ambition

Accra, April 11, GNA - The Premiership survival ambition of Accra Great Olympics' has been rudely halted after they lost 0-1 to Berekum Arsenal in their 26th Week Premier League duel at the El-Wak Stadium, Accra on Sunday.

Olympics, who required a win to give their Premiership survival a realistic chance, laboured in a game in which Arsenal, regarded as bad away travelers dominated but proved wasteful in front of goals.

The Wonder Club were temporarily in control at the start and when Arsenal survived an early invasion, it was the visitors who sent a long ball that was cleverly controlled by Francis Aggrey who picked out advancing Albert Bruce.

Bruce raced deep into the Olympics goal area, controlled well and sent a hefty shot that took a 'wicked' deflection off an Olympics player in the area to gift Arsenal an opener in 13th minutes.

The goal stunned the demanding Olympics supporters and players alike and when the game restarted, it was Olympics who had the best of chances to draw parity.

However when Fred Boateng took off to meet an in-swinger from the flank with a header, Arsenals' goalkeeper Thomas Tuah Asare proved equal to the quality of the header to leave the results in favour of Arsenal.

The fight for the equalizer was on but it was keeper Asare who stole the show on the stroke of halftime when he dramatically saved from the line with a fantastic stretch halting Olympics' hunger for parity.

With the clock ticking against Olympics' wish, desperation set in with Arsenal also faltering in their quest to take advantage of Olympics vulnerability born out of their nervousness.

Olympics however had goalkeeper Ben Mensah to thank on the blink of time after the goalie dived to his elastic limit to scoop the ball off the line to deny Aggrey from getting his name on the score sheet.

The Wonder Club would forever ruin their miss deep into the injury time when a desperate clearance from Arsenal almost resulted into an own goal but for the goalpost that deflected the ball back into play to deny Olympics with at least a consolation goal on home grounds.