Ghana FA Cup: Nations shock Aduana to qualify for final

Nations FC held their guns to beat Aduana FC 1-0 in the semifinals of the MTN Ghana FA Cup at the Swedru stadium on Friday.

Forward, Emmanuel Annor’s solitary strike was all the Abrankese based club needed to qualify for the finals of the competition.

The head coach of Nations FC, Frimpong Manso shared his happiness after leading the team to the finals of the competition for the first time.

“It feels great to be in this position. Everybody was excited about how the game was played.

“Bringing the first team to qualify for the FA Cup final, we are very excited,” Manso said.

“The team has never won a trophy, and now they are in the final, so that alone gave them the motivation to go for the kill.

“We were in control, in terms of defending, we did not give them any space.”

Nations FC defender, Razak Simpson was adjudged Man-of-the-Match and speaking in a post-match interview, the Ghana international credited the entire team for a yeoman’s job.

“I give God all the glory. If not for him, we wouldn’t be here, and we wouldn’t have won this match.

“Last season, we were contesting for the league. A lot of the experienced players have left, and now we have young players in the team.

“Credit goes to our management and the coaches. We are happy.

“I will not take all the credit. Kudos to my defensive partner, Asante Boahene and the entire back four.

“I told Annor to score before the game and leave the rest to me. And that’s what we did,” Razak Simpson said.

Aduana, who are yet to win the FA Cup, must now shift attention to finishing in the top four of the Ghana Premier League.

They sit in 4th on 45 points, eight points behind leaders Medeama from 29 league games this campaign.

Head coach of Aduana, Cioaba Aristica attributes poor defensive work to his team’s defeat against Nations FC.

“First, let me congratulate Nations FC on the win. It is coming from one mistake by our defensive line.

“Our midfield and attacking line did not have the inspiration today, and we didn’t have the chance to score.

“We had a problem with our attack. We will accept responsibility as a team. This is our squad, and this is our level,” Cioaba Aristica said.

Nations FC will now face the winner of the second Ghana FA Cup semi-final encounter between Dreams FC and Medeama SC at the Swedru Stadium on Saturday.

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