Christopher Bonney’s second half penalty earned Hearts of Oak victory in the top of the table clash with Karela United FC in the GFA Special Competition.

The Phobians extend their lead at the top of the table to four points with the slim win over the Anyinase based club.

Joseph Esso could have grabbed the opener for the Phobians but his first minute chance went agonizingly wide from inside the box.

Karela United seized control of the game, creating numerous chances with the best one falling to Solomon Taylor, who fired wide.

Red-hot attacker Diawisie Taylor was kept quiet in the first half by Hearts defender Mohammed Alhassan.

The Phobians nearly fetched the opener on the brink of half time after a well taken corner from Christopher Bonney, which was poorly defended in the Karela box but it was eventually dealt with.

Following a barren first half, Karela United FC returned from the break a better side, creating several chances.

Solomon Taylor, Emmanuel Baffour and Diawisie Taylor combined well to create problems for the defense of the Rainbow club.

Taylor, the orchestrator whipped in a ball on the left but Diawisie’s curling effort went wide.

Hearts of Oak’s right side looked weak at times, and on one instance it was Baffour who found his way through but his low cross could not be connected by Taylor.

Coach Kim Grant brought on Kofi Kordzi for the quiet Manaf Umar, and it was a change that yielded dividends as the player turned a supplier to Daniel Kodie, who was impeded in the box for a penalty.

Christopher Bonney elected himself for the kick, and expertly converted to give the home side the lead.

Hearts, boosted by the lead started to pour in waves of attack but were stopped by Karela’s impressive defender Nuruden Alhassan.

Malik Akowuah came on for Michelle Sarpong as Hearts held on to secure all three points and extend their lead at the top of the table to four.

Source: Ghanasoccernet.com