Hearts of Oak knicked a goal past Samartex in their week 16 Ghana Premier League fixture at the Legon Sports Stadium on Saturday.
The millennium champions came from a confident boosting goalless draw against two time champions, Aduana FC the previous week at the Nana Agyemang Badu Park.
The 12-time Ghana FA cup winners needed the win at all costs to keep the chase at the top spot but it was Samartex who threatened very early in the first half.
Christian Agyenim Boateng had the chance to put the visitors ahead with just two minutes into the first department after capitalizing on Abdul Karim’s mistake but his strike came off the face of Solomon Agbasi to keep Hearts of Oak in the game.
The Phobians however recovered quickly when Mawuli Wayo latched on to a glorious opportunity to shoot Hearts of Oak ahead in the 4th minute however his shot went way over the cross bar for Samartex goal kick.
A minute after that miss, Wayo forced Samartex into a goalmouth error, dispossessing Roland Grippman before teeing off Hamza Issah to score Oak’s opener.
Hearts of Oak Edge Samartex in Hard-Fought Victory at Legon
Both sides did not show much urgency however it was Oak who kept knocking a bit harder in search of the second goal.
Samartex goalkeeper, Moses Zakari was called to duty when he made a brilliant save from Martin Karikari’s curler in the 28th minute.
The 1-0 score line separated the two sides into the half time break as Hearts of Oak failed to double the tally with Samartex missing out on the equalizer.
After the break, Hearts of Oak piled incessant pressure on Samartex in search of a second goal with talented midfielder, George Paaku coming close but blew his effort wide.
Samartex came into the picture momentarily but failed to find the equalizer.
The 2000 CAF Champions League winners missed a clear opportunity to make it 2-0 when Theophilus Collison’s lob ended onto the roof of the net.
Hearts of Oak held their guns to secure the vital win at the final whistle pushing them to 28 points same as leaders Aduana with the remaining games to be cleared on Sunday.
Ghana Premier League: Week 16 fixtures
Friday, December 26
Hearts of Oak 1-0 Samartex
Saturday, December 27
Heart of Lions vs Medeama
Vision vs Nations
Sunday, December 28
Young Apostles vs Aduana
All Blacks vs Karela United
Holy Stars vs Bechem United
Berekum Chelsea vs Eleven Wonders
GoldStars vs Dreams FC
Kotoko vs Bechem United