On this day 25 September 1960 (Exactly 60 years ago today) Asante Kotoko made it two in a row for Kumasi as they swept to a thrilling 3-2 victory against Hearts of Oak in the final of the 1959/1960 FA Cup final at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Kumasi Cornerstones, won the competition the previous year. Hearts outplayed their rivals in all departments of the game but they flopped in the closing minutes.
From the blast of the whistle they invaded the Kotoko defence. Suddenly centre half Dogo Moro sent a defence splitting pass to inside right Kwame Adarkwa. He beat Adu Darko on the run and gentle put centre forward Wilberforce Mfum through to bang in from 30 yards to open the scoring for Kotoko.
After this goal the game became a battle of seesaw battle. The 22,000 crowd cheered for the swift grand work by both teams.
Pressure
Ten minutes afterwards the pressure became great on Kotoko. However, they defended very well.
Near misses by Hearts fowards brought some feverish excitement to the teaming crowd. The worst part of it all, was in the 25th minute when inside right Amadu Akuse, within scoring distance, he was pounced upon by ‘keeper Kwao Baffoe of Kotoko.
At 4:20 p. m. a beautiful swing pass by centre forward Aggrey-Fynn got to inside right Akuse. He in turn made a back pass to outside right Ofei Dodoo, who kicked first time to Aggrey-Fynn to slam in the equaliser.
‘Miracle’
With the multicoloured handkerchiefs fluttering in the air and the supporters shouting, Kotoko shot into the attack.
Goalkeeper Addoquaye Laryea made some brilliant saves.
At 4:30pm, a neat pass to Akuse enabled Ofei to nip into the defence and with a powerful shot from 40 yards to put Hearts 2-1 up.
The second half started in a very dull manner with Kotoko making occasional breakaways.
At 5:10 p.m, Kwakye fired in a shot from a scrabble. It hit the upright. Kotoko players claimed it was a goal but referee Badru disallowed.
Injury
At 5:15 p. m., play was held up for three minutes following an injury sustained by goalkeeper Addoquaye Laryea.
Later, Harding took Laryea’s place. This change upset Hearts defence momentarily as Baba Yara, Adarkwa, Mfum, Kwakye and Salisu Kotoko finals bombarded Hearts goalkeeper with series of shots.
There was a tense moment for the Ashanti boys, with their goal merchants Yara, Mfum and Salisu finding it difficult to score again.
An equaliser for Kotoko came in the 75th minute with a non- drop shot by Kwakye.
Penalty Kick
With ten minutes to go Mfum scored the winner for Kotoko from the penalty spot.
The scene after the end of the match was one of pomp and pageantry. Long before the match started thousands of excited soccer fans filled the stadium.
Am impressive ceremony of a march past of the two clubs the salute which was taken by the Education Minister, Mr Dowuona – Hammond and assisted by the Director of Sports, Mr Ohene Djan and the Minister of Works, Mr Bensah was lauded by the packed stadium.
After the match Mr Dowuona – Hammond presented the FA Cup to Baba Yara, captain of the Kotoko team.
Elsewhere;
On this day 25 September 1962 (Exactly 58 years ago today) Sonny Liston knocked outFloyd Patterson in first round for the WBA, the Ring and lineal heavyweight titles at the Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
On this day 25 September 1991 (Exactly 29 years ago today) American Carl Lewis won gold in 100m at the 3rd IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo.
The world record, African record, and European record were broken by Carl Lewis, Frankie Fredericks, and Linford Christie respectively. The then world record holder Leroy Burrell also bettered his previous mark of 9.90 seconds while Ray Stewart set the Jamaican record for the event.
Rank Athlete Time
- Carl Lewis (USA) 9.86 WR
- Leroy Burrell (USA) 9.88 PB
- Dennis Mitchell (USA) 9.91 PB
- Linford Christie (GBR) 9.92 AR
- Frankie Fredericks (NAM) 9.95 AR
- Raymond Stewart (JAM) 9.96 NR
- Robson Caetano da Silva (BRA)10.12
- Bruny Surin (CAN) 10.14
On this day 25 September 1988 (Exactly 32 years ago today) American sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner won women’s 100m in Olympic record 10.54; beat team mate Evelyn Ashford by 0.29; 1st leg of her sprint double at Seoul Games.
On this day 25 September 1988 (Exactly 32 years ago today) Americans swept the medals in the long jump at the Seoul Olympics; Carl Lewis won his second gold of the Games with leap of 8.72m ahead of team mates Mike Powell and Larry Myricks.
On this day 25 September 1982 (Exactly 38 years ago today) Keke Rosberg became the first Fin to win the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship when he finished 5th in season ending Caesars Palace Grand Prix in Las Vegas; he won by five points from Didier Pironi.
NB: Keke is the father of retired Formula One driver and 2016 Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg
On this day 25 September 2005 (Exactly 15 years ago today) Spanish Renault driver Fernando Alonso finished third in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Autódromo José Carlos Pace to clinch his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship
By: George ‘Alan Green’ Mahamah