GHALCA Top 4: “Hearts of Oak will continue to work hard despite good finish” – Didi Dramani

Head coach of Hearts of Oak, Mas Ud Didi Dramani has said that, there is more work to do on his squad despite finishing the GHALCA Top Four on a splendid note.

The record FA Cup holders defeated their sworn rivals, Asante Kotoko by 2-0 in their final match at the Legon Sports Stadium on Sunday but that was not enough to secure them the trophy.

The Phobians secured seven points, same as Gold Stars who eventually won the competition via the head-to-head rule. The clash between Gold Stars and Hearts of Oak in the second game ended 2-2 with the former going ahead to claim a 5-4 penalty shootouts.

Gold Stars secured a 3-2 penalty shootouts win over Heart of Lions after full time ended 1-1 and that gave the league champions the edge over Hearts of Oak.

Notwithstanding Hearts of Oak’s performance, Didi Dramani says he needs to work on the basics ahead next season’s domestic campaign

“We respect opponents’ strengths and we play to our strengths and we plan around that, ” Didi Dramani said.

“There was a lot of work on Saturday to try and work through in terms of how we will deal with their long ball situations and anticipate for second balls and try to put pressure on their centre backs so that they can make mistakes.

“I think there is still a lot to improve and we want to improve on the basic aspects where players can live up to the necessary expectations of energy, effort and performance and I think that these are the things we will continue to emphasize on.” He added.

Hearts of Oak now move into next season’s campaign after winning the Gbese Mantse Homowo Charity Cup. They have Great Olympics to contend with in the 2025 Democracy Cup before the 2025/26 league starts in September.

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