Ghana Premier League heavyweight Accra Hearts of Oak suffered a shocking 3:0 defeat to AS Real Bamako in the first leg of the second preliminary round of the 2022/2023 CAF Confederation Cup at the Stade du 26 Mars de Bamako.
The “Phobians” conceded as an early goal in the 11th minute as Ibourahima Sidibé shot home the opener from the right side of attack for the homeside.
AS Real Bamako made it 2-0 from a free-kick on the half-hour mark when Dennis Nkrumah Korsah slotted home into his own net, ending the first half with a two-goal lead.
Back from recess, Hearts of Oka kept knocking to get back in the encounter but were unable to find the back of the net, despite several attempts at goal.
Black Stars forward Daniel Afriyie Barnie came closer to reducing the deficit but saw his effort gone wasted.
Gladson Awako and Caleb Amankwah also came closer to getting a goal for the visitors earlier but all efforts missed by inches.
Hearts of Oak coach, David Ocloo in a move to get back into the game introduced Prince Darmang and Rashid Okine to replace Gladson Awako and Dennis Korsah but still proved futile.
The 2021/2022 Malian Cup champions sealed their huge victory with their third in the 74th minute through Cheickna Diakite.
David Ocloo stepped in as an interim coach for Hearts of Oak following the exit of coach Samuel Boadu who was relieved off duty due to poor performance.
Hearts of Oak must now overturn the 3-goal deficit at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday, 16th October, 2022 to stand any chance of advancing to the playoffs round to the group stage of the 2022/23 CAF Confederation Cup.
By: Ayishatu Zakaria Ali
