Accra (Greater Accra) - Accra Hearts of Oak have failed for the third consecutive time to reach the money zone of the African Champions League when they beat AS Aviacao of Angola 2-0 in the second leg of their 1/8 stage confrontation at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.

The victory could not cancel the 3-0 defeat Hearts suffered in Angola a fortnight ago. Hearts scored the first goal on 45 minutes when skipper Joe Ansah powered a left footed volley that sailed through a cluster of legs and past Shumi Latuta in goal for Aviacao from about 25 yards.

Hearts had a good opportunity in the first minute to pull a goal back from the first encounter but Bernard Dong Bortey chickened out of a fifty-fifty race for the ball and allowed the Angolan goalkeeper, Shumi Latuta to make a save.

On six minutes, Masssawudu Mumuni lost another golden chance when Wisdom Abbey who had done a good run on the right flank set him up. Mumuni scooped the ball with his left foot narrowly off the mark when Latuta was nowhere near his line. The Ghanaian champions had their first corner kick in the eighth minute but it was to no avail as the tall Angolans cleared the ball out of danger.

Four minutes later, Wisdom Abbey shot straight at the Angolan keeper after Bortey had sent a useful ball from the right. Laryea Kingston threw the entire Angolan defence out of position when he sidestepped the ball, leaving Abbey with the chance.

The visitors had their first corner kick in the 19th minute but their delivery was very woeful and Hearts cleared easily from their half. The Hearts team appeared all nerves as they failed to string their passes together and allowed the Angolans, who to say the least, were very ordinary to cut their passes and clear hastily to make the encounter rather drab.

Laryea forced the second save from the Angolan keeper on 29 minutes and three minutes after that, Emmanuel Osei Kofour lost in combat in a one on one tussle with a defender when he had the goal on sight.

In the second half, Hearts missed another fine chance when Mumuni ghosted past two Angolan defenders but his final ball went straight to the goalkeeper. The scale tilted greatly in favour of the Ghanaian champions when Simato Ben Dinha got a red card for striking Laryea Kingston in the face but Hearts made heavy weather of the advantage as they missed chance after chance.

Awudu Adama took over from Mumuni and Edmund Copson replaced Wisdom Abbey but the Hearts attack failed to glitter until the 71st minute when Copson scored the second with a half volley after an excellent run by Kuffour down the left. It was all Hearts thereafter as they surged forward looking for the leveller but try as they did, they could not get the third, which would have thrown the game into a penalty shootout.

Even the introduction of Adjah Tetteh for injured Laryea Kingston could not change the fortune of the club. There was a mild drama at half time as a man believed to be the juju man of Hearts confronted an Angolan player who was sprinkling water in one of the goal posts. The man who had himself sprinkled some water across the field before kick off attempted retrieving the water container from the player who resisted toughly.

The intervention of some police officers and officials of Hearts prevented the confrontation from degenerating into any ugly incident.