Hearts of Oak midfielder Ibrahim Salifu
Midfielder Ibrahim Salifu was named Man of the Match as Hearts of Oak beat King Faisal 2-0 on Sunday night in the late kick of the Ghana Premier League.
The winger earned a lot of points for his work rate and tenacity.
Salifu hit the woodwork in the first half with a well-drilled free-kick and it was his selfless act late on in the match that got him an ovation.
He was clear on goal but instead of firing past King Faisal goalkeeper Danlad Ibrahim, he set up Daniel Barnieh to bury home for the second goal.
Hearts dominated the game and the scoreline told the whole story but maybe things would have been different had Faisal been awarded a penalty early on in the second half.
Early on in the game, Faisal nearly conceded an own goal after miscommunication between Eric Donkor and his goalkeeper Danlad Ibrahim.
A quarter into the match, Hearts of Oak tested the agility of Ibrahim when Victor Aidoo’s powerful drive from 20 yards was smothered by the Ghana U20 gloves man.
Faisal came into the match late on when Enoch Morrison found Zubairu Ibrahim inside the box but the latter failed to find the back of the net.
Few minutes into the second half, striker Kwame Peprah was thrown into the action by replacing Tophic Razak.
King Faisal felt they were denied a clear penalty. Zubairu Ibrahim has been brought down in the penalty box but the referee shockingly allowed play to continue.
Hearts of Oak continued to push for the opener and were duly rewarded in the 57th minute when Kojo Obeng Junior had the easiest task of directing a cut-back pass from the left side inside the box.
Six minutes from time, Obeng Junior unleashed a powerful shot but Ibrahim produced a save.
Two minutes later, Hearts doubled their account when Daniel Afriyie slotted home after collecting a beautiful pass from Ibrahim.