It was another frustrating outing for Hearts of Oak as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Aduana Stars at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.
Bright Adjei’s late strike from the penalty spot ensured the spoils were shared after Kofi Kordzi gave the Phobians an early lead in the first half.
It was a third consecutive draw for the Phobians who are yet to win a game this season with previous draws against WAFA and Legon Cities.
The game started with exciting attacking exchanges between the two sides with Emmanuel Gyamfi forcing a save from Hearts goalkeeper Richard Baidoo in the first minute.
Kordzi broke the deadlock for the Phobians on the 10th-minute mark when he struck a low shot past Aduana Stars Joseph Addo after a sublime pass from Salifu Ibrahim.
Emmanuel Nettey’s drive from 20 yards nearly found the back of the net, but Aduana Stars goalkeeper Joseph Addo pulled off a brilliant save to deny the Phobians.
The Phobians were in control of the game halfway through the first half with a flurry of chances coming their way, but they were wasteful as they couldn’t add to their lead.
Emmanuel Gyamfi had a chance to pull parity for the away side in the 33rd minute but struck his shot off target.
Aduana Stars were certainly a much-improved side in the latter stages of the first half but struggled to create any clear chances as Hearts held on to their lead as the game went into recess.
The “Ogyaa Boys” started the second half just like they ended the first half mounting pressure on the Hearts defence in search of the equalizer.
Aduana Stars striker Bright Adjei came close in pulling parity for the away side but his half volley on the hour mark went wide.
Kordzi had a glorious chance to score his second goal of the game in the 63rd minute but he was indecisive as his final shot went wide.
The introduction of Samuel Bio and Benjamin Twenboah in the second half did add a spark to the Aduana Stars attack as they looked the more likely side to get the next goal.
Mohammed Alhassan received his marching orders as he was adjudged to have brought down Benjamin Twenboah by referee Eso Doh Morrison.
Bright Adjei stepped up and sent goalkeeper Richard Baidoo the wrong way as the Ogyaa Boys restored parity in the 80th minute.
Aduana Stars controlled affairs with the man advantage over the Phobians but they couldn’t capitalize as spoils were shared at the end of the match.