Author: Victoria Kwofie
GRA Ladies stormed Burma Camp with purpose and left no room for negotiation, charging their way to a 2-1 victory over Army in a much anticipated Week 8 showdown of the Salpholda Hockey League.
The tie was not only a decider for the top spot but also for bragging rights after both encounters between the two sides last season ended in stalemates.
The breakthrough came early in the first quarter when a defensive blunder from Army handed GRA a penalty stroke. Mavis Berko made no mistake, putting GRA ahead just 4th minutes into the game.
GRA’s second came in the 19th minute after a crunching tackle on Vivian Narkuor, who was on a counterattack into the Army goal yard. The infringement resulted in another penalty stroke, and Berko calmly converted again, securing her brace and giving her side a 2-0 victory.
Despite dominating play and earning multiple advantage balls, GRA were wasteful upfront, failing to extend their lead through the third quarter. In the 52nd minute, Army pulled one back through a penalty corner, with Gabti Asana delivering a consolation for the hosts.
After the final whistle, GRA captain Gertrude Inkoom reflected on the hard fought victory; “as champions, every team will come hard at us, and that is what we witnessed today. We needed to change the results because last season, we drew with them in both the first and second rounds,” she said. “I must admit we were wasteful upfront. We allowed our chances to slip away. We’ll work on that and keep our title chase on course.”
However, the mood in the Army camp was one of frustration. Otto Eleanor didn’t hold back, voicing displeasure at the officiating; “We did everything in our power to win this game, but some of the calls from the umpires really frustrated us and caused our defeat.”
With the win, GRA now sit comfortably at the top of the Women’s Division table with 12 points and boast the best goal tally in the league.
