Author: Victoria Nana Adwoa Kwofie
The Bank of Ghana’s hockey team, Exchequers, has been crowned champions of the 2024 Salpholda Hockey League in the Men’s Division. Exchequers topped the league table with 33 points, achieving 10 wins, 3 draws, and only 1 defeat. Their sole defeat came at the hands of the Ghana Police team in a closely contested first-round match that ended 4-3.
Elikem Akaba Captain of the Exchequers expressed his excitement about the victory, saying, “It’s another title in the bag, and we are becoming used to it. Not to sound boastful, but it’s a standard we’ve set for ourselves, and we are going to give our best and continue to raise the standard high.”
Elikem added, “The promise is we will go out there and give our best, and hopefully, our best will be enough to break the jinx.”
Assistant Coach Robert Ayi shared similar sentiments in an interview, stating, “It feels great to be champions. We feel very excited about winning the league.” He explained that their success was due to a strategic plan set from the beginning, emphasizing that “our system was most important to us, and it worked perfectly.”
Coach Robert also noted the importance of their training tour before the league, saying, “The skills we gathered played a crucial role. Even though our opponents were tough, we managed to gather the necessary points.”
Looking ahead, Coach Robert outlined the team’s aspirations: “Our agenda is to bring the African Club trophy to Ghana. We were second the last time after a 3-1 defeat to our opponents because two of our players got hurt and were ruled out of the game, which affected us. But with the preparations this time around, we will bring the trophy to Ghana. We will step up our training and strengthen the team to ensure that we bring the trophy to Ghana.”
In the final standings, both GRA and Army finished with 30 points each, but GRA secured the second position due to a superior goal difference, leaving Army in third place. Reformers claimed the fourth spot, followed by Police in fifth, Legonknights in sixth, Arkmen in seventh, and University of Ghana at the bottom of the table.