Olympics vs Hearts preview: A fiery derby fuelled by immediate and long term ambitions

Accra Hearts Olympics and Accra Hearts of Oak will on Sunday take to the pitch to renew their long held and fiery rivalry in week 28 of this season’s Premier League.

In what is dubbed the GaMashie derby, the game has always been about bragging rights and claiming ownership of the locality.

But this week there might be more at stake than just the immediate sense of joy and delight that will be presented to the fans of the winning team.

The reverse fixture took place earlier this year with Hearts of Oak losing out 2-0 at home thanks to goals from Gladson Awako and Maxwell Quaye.

However, the Phobians have had a change of fortune in the second round of the season and are now leading the race for the title race this season.

Their upsurge in form has led striker Abednego Tetteh to  promise the fans of delivering the title for the first time since the 2008/2009 season, but the with the margins ever close at the top of the table more work will have to be done to fulfill that promise.

They would have to continue their impressive run in the league starting from Sunday…

Olympics vs Hearts: What is at stake? 

For Accra Hearts of Oak, their immediate objective will be to avenge the 2-0 defeat they suffered at the hands of Sunday’s opponents in the first round of the season.

In the long term, a victory over Olympics will give them a massive boost going into the last couple of games of this season.

They could extend the gap between themselves and Olympics to eight points with a win.

Coach Samuel Boadu will have a full squad to help the Phobians win the game on Sunday, with only goalkeeper Richmond Ayi, who has joined the Black Meteors in Japan, being the only unavailable player.

Great Olympics on the other hand, will be lucky to have captain and talisman Gladson Awako with them after he was withdrawn from the national under 23 side.

With 6 assists so far this season he will be instrumental in helping the Dadie boys achieve their objectives on Sunday.

For Olympics, there will be nothing more they would want than to end Hearts of Oak’s five game running on home soil.

The Phobians are yet drop a point in their last five games, beating King Faisal (2-0), Bechem United (1-0), Elmina Sharks (2-0), Eleven Wonders (1-0) and Berekum Chelsea (2-0) and conceding no goal in the process.

A win over their rivals will also close the gap to just 2 points and give themselves a fighting chance for glory this season.

Form guide 

Below is the form guide of both teams from their last five games in the Premier League.

Great Olympics – DWLLW

D- Karela (1-1)

W- Inter Allies (1-0)

L- Ashanti Gold (0-1)

L- Aduana Stars (2-3)

W- WAFA (3-2)

Hearts of Oak– WWWWW

W-King Faisal (2-0)

W-Bechem United (1-0)

W-Elmina Sharks (2-0)

W- Eleven Wonders (1-0)

W-Berekum Chelsea (2-0)