It was a bad match day yesterday for Nigerian clubs as both Kada Queens and Yobe desert were beaten in their respective matches. In the first match of the day, Nigerian champions Kada queens played host to Kenya league champions Telkom in a match touted by many as “a meeting of champions”. The match started with both teams in search of a win after respective derby wins. The first quarter saw both teams play defensive and very cautious. Maureen Arianda put Telkom Kenya in-front four minutes into the second quarter after bad defending from Kada Queens. Tournament joint top scorer, Lucy Wangechi increased the tally in the third quarter before Tracy Karanja made it 3-0 in the 56th minute with a wonderful penalty corner. Speaking after the game, head Coach of Kada Queens said, “We gave them open spaces in the second quarter and allowed them to run freely. We still love the way we play no matter what happens…we will work on our mistakes and come back the next game well prepared”. GRA ladies moved top of the league log after thrashing Yobe Dessert 8-0 in the second game. Narkuoh Vivian put GRA in-front as early as the 2nd minute before making it two in the 16th minute. Lydia Afriyie added her name to the score-sheet in the 39th minute. Berko Mavis increased the tally from a penalty corner before skipper Grant Moinica’s brace in the 48th and 51st minute made it 6-0. Elizabeth Opoku and Deborah Whyte rounded up the victory in the 54th and 60th minute. The final game was between Ghana Police ladies and Strathmore. After both teams losing on match day 2, this was an opportunity to redeem themselves. However, it was Strathmore who scored first from Okumu Gilly in the 7th minute. Ghana police responded quickly through Umaru Nafisatu two minutes later. The first quarter ended 1-1. Both teams came into the second quarter in search of a goal but that never happened as the defenders put up a good show. The goal came in the third quarter courtesy Martha Sarfoa to put police ladies ahead. Umaru Nafisatu got her sixth goal of the competition to move top of the scorers chart in the 48th minute. Cecilia Ofoi made it 4-1 in the 51st minute to send Ghana police 3rd on the log. Skipper of Ghana Police ladies spoke after the match; she said, “We are so grateful to God for this victory. We had to come back after that defeat to GRA and that is exactly what we did. We will fight hard till the end of this competition, and hopefully get the ultimate”. Source: isports360.com

After winning GRA and drawing against Niger Flickers, continental champions – El Sharkia continued their ACCC17 campaign facing Nigeria’s Police Machine. Police Machine, who had lost all 2 games, aimed at making a mark this time. At blast whistle, El Sharkia shook the net of Police Machine as Ahmed Gamal scored in the 3rd minute. Samha Ibrahim in the 4th and 10th minute, added his first brace to the scoresheet of El Sharkia putting them ahead before the end of the first quarter. Police Machine came into the second quarter to reduce their conceded goals to 2 but wasn’t enough to put the team in better place. El Sharkia’s midfield took control of the game as they disallowed all balls entering their 25. They sprang Police Machine with goals in the 34th, 48th, 52nd minutes securing all three points in their own way. Captain of El Sharkia – Sameer Ibrahim finally added his name to the scoresheet echoing his team dominance in the game. Match ended El Sharkia 7-1 Police. Trustees hope to redeem their reputation fell to their feet as they failed to gain a point in their third game. Defending champions took them by surprise scoring a lone goal to in the 13th minute to capitalize all three points. Ibrahim Amr’s tomahawk move spoiled the mood of Ghanaians putting the Egyptians in a comfortable lead. Johnny Botsio pushed effort to revive his team and team mates but wasn’t enough to gain a point. Eastern Company kept their composure very solid in their defence to prevent Trustess from getting a goal. Tears fell from the Trustees players as left the pitch to end match 2 of the male’s group defeated. Kelvin Linus had gained momentum in the tournament after positioning himself in all games. His presence for the Flickers had made him a prime target for defenders in all teams they played with. GRA after struggling in their first two games, made Ghanains proud pushing Niger Flickers to the wall. Kelvin gave Niger Flickers the upper hand in 7th minute but goal was cancelled in the second quarter as Enerst Opoku scored his first penalty corner of the game . Tempers rose as the game became keener and keener in every minute. Niger Flickers secured a penalty stroke which was beautifully converted by Benard Wilson in the 40th minute. Prince Ashrifie restored GRA’s hope as he flicked a one on one ball over Abdulkadir to put GRA at par. Ernest added his name to the bracers as he scored his second goal for GRA in the 51st minute. A blunder in the defence of the flickers led to this result putting GRA in comfortable zone to pick up all three points. Nicholas Hason cemented the lead as he swiftly passed through the defence of Niger Flickers to score the 4th goal for GRA in the 56th minute. The goal was celebrated by many whose hope had been restored in a Ghanaian team. Niger Flickers reduced the goals conceded to one in the 57th minute after Umar Danladi drag flicked into the top right corner of Acheampong. Tension struck into the last two minute of the game putting pressure on both teams to win or draw before 60 mins. Aikings, had the chance to make it five but failed to beat Niger Flicker’s goalkeeper. Niger Flickers found tears in their eyes as the last whistle was blown. GRA tasted their first victory making Ghana proud winning 4 goals to 3.

Match day 2 in the mens group continued with mouth-watering clashes as Trustees earned first win with Niger flickers and GRA picking up vital points. Ghana’s trustees played Nigeria’s police machine in the first match of the day. The match which was a meeting of domestic league runners-up as they both sought their first win in the competition. Talismanic Johnny Botsio got the entire stadium cheering as he put Trustees in front from a penalty corner in the 13th minute. It was the second penalty corner in succession and Botsio scored with a drag flick into the top right corner after goalkeeper Sani Almustapha had parried the first attempt. The first quarter came ended with Trustees all smiles. Police Machine came strong in the second quarter and created lots of chances but failed to convert. The home crowd were taken through heart breaking moments as the Nigerians mounted pressure. Tettey Francis with a fine solo effort going past three defenders, increased the tally for the home side. The second goal added more confidence to the Trustees side as they went in search for more goals. Their efforts paid off in the 55th minute when Rahman Anum scored to make it 3-0. Police machine were left frustrated and down spirited after losing their second successive match. Match day one winners El Sharkia of Egypt and Niger Flickers faced off in the second match. The egyptian champions were poised and eager to make it two wins in two matches with the Nigerian champions ready to spoil the party. El Sharkia mounted pressure on Flickers from the umpires whistle blast but the likes of Adamu Kollo in defence for Flickers ensured the game was still barren. Kelvin Linus on the other hand proved a threat for the Sharkia defence with his tricky runs and perfect stick work. El sharkia thought they had gone in front in the 29th minute when awarded a penalty stroke. Yakubu Aliyu in post for Niger Flickers prevented skipper Ibrahim Sameer form getting on the score sheet. With the game still barren, the Egyptians started showing signs of frustration with the aggressive play of the flickers. The deadlock was finally broken in the 39th minute when Gobran Hossam made a solo run into the ‘D’ before hitting past Aliyu in post with a reverse stroke to put El Sharkia in front. Bernard Wilson levelled the scoreline for Niger Flickers with a penalty stroke in the 52nd minute. Time was running for both teams but El Sharkia won their second penalty stroke after Sham Sudeen prevented Moahmed Aly’s shot at goal with his foot. Moahmed Essam steeped up this time to take instead of skipper Sameer who had missed one earlier. Essam sending goalkeeper Aliyu to the wrong way, watched his flicked effort hit the post to the admiration of the entire flickers team. Game ended 1-1. Speaking to isports360 after the game, Coach Nuhu of Flickers said, “the last penalty stroke was a wrong call and that shows how bad the officiating was. We could have won this game but luck wasnt on our side. We are on course after our first two games but it’s still a long journey to the final”. Ghanaian champions GRA hosted eastern company in the final game for match day 2. The stadium was filled to capacity as the spectators came in their numbers to support the home team. Eastern Company almost silenced the entire stadium in the 13th minute when Ibrahim Amr’s, drag flicked, penalty corner almost found its way to the top right corner of Acheampong’s goal post. Ashifie Prince sent the entire stadium into rapturous mood when he scored in the 41st minute to put GRA in the lead. The goal sparked life into GRA as they mounted pressure on eastern company but failing to convert the many chance created. The moment of silence came in thhe 50th minute when El Badry Mahmoud equalised from a penalty stroke. GRA played their hearts out in the final 10 minutes in search of the match winner but luck was not on their side as time run out before they could score. The goal did not stand since the final whistle had gone. The game ended with both teams sharing the points. Source: isports360.com

 It was a match day of local derbies in the ladies category of the ongoing Africa Cup for Club Champions. The matches were between domestic league champions and their runner’s up and the champions prevailed. The Nigerians got us underway in match day two as Nigeria super league champions Kada Queens engaged Yobe Dessert Queens. As expected of every local derby, the match was played under tensed moments with both teams needing a win badly after losing respective opening matches. Justina Onyedum and skipper Ajuma Ejengwa stood out tall in the Yobe setup troubling the Kada Queens team. The first, second and third quarters travelled barren with both teams eager and anxious to make a mark. The game which had been boring to spectators who had made their way into the stadium still had exciting moments to come Kada Queens, started the fourth quarter with a more attacking style of play which made the Yobe desert defence very uncomfortable and prone to mistakes. Kada queens were awarded a penalty stroke in the 51st minute after Ikiriko Bomiegha’s powerful hit was stopped on the goal line by a field player in the person of Ajuma Ejengwa. Ikiriko stepped up to take the penalty stroke and made no mistake to slot the ball home. The match ended with Kada queens 1-0 winners over Yobe Queens. Defending champions Telkom hockey club, then took to the pitch to take on Strathmore in the all Kenyan affair. After failing to beat Telkom in as many matches, Coach Senge and ladies came solely to end that bad run. Telkom started the match on their slow pace as usual with Strathmore playing more offensive and fast. The match saw chances being created at both ends with Okumu Gilly of Strahmore getting the most. Joint top scorer in the competition so far, Lucy Wangechi failed to replicate her performance in the opening game as Atigo Barbara and Bariti Diana in the Strathmore defence put her in check. The best chance though fell to Audrey Amooh in the 20th minute, but the young attacker one on one with goalkeeper Otieno Maria couldn’t make good use of it. Telkom started to mount pressure on Strathmore in the third and final quarter. However, the champions maintaind composure  and finally got that match winner. AmoohAudery who had a goal disallowed earlier, took advantage of a defensive error to punsh Strathmore. The final whistle went with Kenya league champions Telkom beating strathmore by a lone goal to go top in the ladies category. Coach Jos Openda speaking after the match, said, “We knew how difficult the match would turn out after watching them play their opening game. We saw how fast and offensive they were and hence stuck to our slow pacy style which worked. We will keep it calm and see if we can defend the trophy”. Ghana’s duo of league champions GRA and runner’s up Police ladies gave the entire stadium something to cheer about in the last derby match of the day. It was a game of interest to Ghanaians in their quest to lift the trophy. After winning respective opening matches, GRA and Police ladies came into this game highly motivated. A game which did not see more chances created, still gave the home crowd a feel of a local derby. A misunderstanding in defence gifted Elizabeth Opoku a glorious chance and the Ghanaian international made no mistake slotting the ball home. The former SWAG (Sports Writers Association of Ghana) female hockey player of Ghana who has been missing in the competition steeped up and proved to be the decider. Ghana Police ladies led by Umaru Nafisatu dominated the third and fourth quater but GRA’s defense came to being especially Fosua Emelia who made two timely goal bound interventions.The game ended with GRA 1-0 winners. The win puts GRA joint top with Telkom while Ghana Police ladies maintain their third spot with 3 points. a win in the Nigeria derby takes kada queens to 4th place same points with Ghana Police but difference in goals. Strathmore and Yobe desert queens who are both yet to win and score a goal in this competition complete the table in 5th and 6th respectively.

The race to be crowned Africa club champions got underway today at the Theodosia Okoh hockey pitch, Accra, with disappointments for Ghana’s male representatives as both GRA and Trustees lost their opening games. It was defending champions, Eastern Company Club of Egypt who engaged Nigeria’s police machine in the men’s opener. the Egyptians took control of the game right from the start making dangerous runs into the opponents half. Aboutaleb Mahmoud and Rashwan Mohamed made things difficult for the Nigerians with their inter positional play. a penalty corner awarded in the 13th minute was perfectly executed by Aboutaleb Mahmoud with drag flick into the top left corner beating Sani Almustapha in post for Police Machine. Rashwan Mohamed increased the tally two minutes inside the second quarter before Aboutaleb from another penalty corner made it 3-0. the game at this point was out of reach for the Nigerians. However, the final quarter brought the best out of Police Machine with Olayinka Jayeoba and Michael Agbaegbu the main actors. A fantastic solo run from Michael down the left side of Eastern’s defense saw him outwit three defenders before playing the ball past goalkeeper Shehata Farahat to reduce the deficit. The goal seem to have sparked more life into Police Machine but all efforts proved futile. The game ended with Eastern company 3-1 winners. A hat-trick from Linus kelvin was enough to win all maximum points for Niger flickers in their game against Ghana’s Trustees. Kelvin put the flickers ahead as early as the 6th minute with a reverse hit going through the legs of Karikari in post for Trustees. Johnny Botsio leveled the game from a penalty corner. Captain Nsalbini Salya put trustees in front from a penalty stroke after defender John Micheal stopped Botsio’s trademark reverse hit with his leg on the goal line. Flickers equalized five minutes later after goalkeeper Jeffery Karikari allowed Endurance Ngozi’s feeble hit elude him into his post. Coach Edmond Aryeetey decided to bring on John Kenneth in place of Karikari who was having a bad day. Abgeli Samuel put the Ghanaian side in front in the final quarter to send the entire stadium into jubilant mood. Niger Flickers John Michael was shown a straight red card minutes later after a silly foul on Salya Nsalbini to make matters worse for the Nigerians. The party was however cut short for Trustees and the home crowd when Kelvin got his brace with a reverse hit after bad defending form Trustees. He completed his hat-trick four minutes to time with a deflection inside the area from Ngozi’s long hit. Johnny Botsio and his side tried to level the game but the resilience of the flickers defense proved vital. The game ended with Niger Flickers beating trustees 4-3. The final game for match day three produced seven goals as Egyptian champions and competition record title holders, El Sharkia beat Ghanaian champions GRA 5-2. Ahmed Moahmed Aly opened the gates in the 14th minute. A brilliant play from Ahmed Gamal on the right found Aly in the area to tap home from close range. GRA responded in the 27th minute from Micheal Akuamaoh. Gobran Hosam put El Sharkia in front for the second time from a penalty corner. Moahmed Aly made it 3-1 in the 36th minute. The Egyptians who used less energy and allowed the ball travel more looked to have carried the lead into the final quarter before Damalie Luke’s penalty corner goal reduced the deficit for GRA. Luke got injured in the process and had to be replaced after getting the goal. The fourth quarter started with both team very conscious and tactically disciplined. Skipper Sameer Mohamed stepped up to covert their second penalty corner of the game with a drag flick. Gobran put the game beyond GRA in the 51st minute when he deflected Moahmed Aly’s reverse hit cross from the right flank closer to the corner flag. GRA played very well but lack of experience on their part ensured they tasted defeat for the first time in over 12 months of action. Speaking after the contest, Sharkia’s Ahmed Ezz said “We came into this with a sole aim of winning and that is what we did. GRA are a very strong side and showed that in the game…we have won this  game and our focus is on the very next till we get to the final”. El Sharkia’s win put them top of the men’s table with Eastern Company coming second. Niger Flickers with that famous win over trustees lie third level on points with the Egyptians. Ghana’s duo of Trustees and GRA come in 5th and 6th respectively after Nigeria’s police machine.

Defending champions, Telkom Kenya defeated Yobe Queens as Ghana’s GRA and Police ladies team thrash their respective opponents on match day one. The first game of the competition was between Nigerian league champions, Kada Queens and the ladies from Ghana Police. The game started on a rather tense and shaky note but it Ghana Police who took the lead. An inch perfect pass from Cecilia Amoako found Umaru Nafisatu in front of goal who made no mistake to slap the ball home through the legs of goalkeeper Komi Ineh. Nafisatu made it two in the 14th minute after a blunder from the Nigerian defense. She completed her hat trick as early as the 22nd minute from a penalty corner. The second quarter ended with Ghana Police solely in control of the game. Kada queens in the third quarter stepped up their play mounting pressure on the Police team who eventually gave up to concede a goal in the 42nd minute courtesy Aben Nguvan. the pressure piled up after the goal but the Police team’s defense ensured they concede none. The goals were coming for the Ghanaian international, Umaru Nafisatu who got her fourth in the 49th minute from a penalty corner. The game ended 4-1 in favor of Ghana Police. in an interview with isports360 after the match, Umaru Nafisatu said, “We are grateful to God for this victory. i knew i would score but not as many as four. we have started well and hope to clinch the ultimate”. Wangechi Lucy scored four as defending champions Telecom Kenya beat Yobe dessert queens 5-0 in the second game. The champions started the game on a slow pace with the game barren within the fist ten minutes. The game plan of Yobe looked to have worked out as the champions started showing signs of frustrations. The dead lock was however broken in the 10th minute courtesy Lucy Wangechi. The champions took control of the game as Lucy made it 2-0 minutes later. The young bulky attacker completed her hat-trick with a simple goal before Audrey Amooh added her name to the score sheet to make it 4-0. Yobe queens switched to a more defensive play to avoid more goals but Lucy had her own intentions. the young striker latched onto a defensive howler to make it 5-0 for the champions. GRA ladies in the final women’s game of the day beat the young lads from Strathmore University by 4-0. An expected win for GRA by all started in favor of Strathmore who played so well in the first 20 minutes. Okumu Gilly of Strathmore exhibited her technique, pace and skills to keep the GRA defense busy. Skipper Monica Grant put GRA ahead in the 26th minute before Emelia Fosua made it two from a penalty corner in the 35th minute. GRA in full control of the game in the third quarter wasted numerous chances with Elizabeth Opoku the culprit. Vivian Narkuor added the third with a reverse hit before Coffie Ernestina rounded up in the 57th minute. “We started very well holding the GRA team but eventually my ladies lost control and conceded four afterwards”, Coach Senge speaking after the match. “We have not given up the fight and still expect more from my ladies beacause the best is yet to come…Telkom is a very good side but we will still fight this to the very end”, he added. Telkom lead the table with three points same as GRA ladies and Police ladies but superior goal difference. Kada Queens , Strathmore and Yobe complete the table in 4th, 5th and 6th positions respectively. Source: isports360.com

Matches scheduled for the ACCC 2017 Competition   Source: isports360.com