The 2022/23 Ghana Premier League ended on Sunday with a lot of drama across the various match centres as Medeama SC won the ultimate while sending Tamale City back to the Division One League.
The hard work of Abedneo Tetteh also paid off as he finished with 18 goals to win the top scorer award. Meanwhile, for the first time in the last three years, both Hearts and Kotoko finished outside the top two.
Here are five talking points from the final day.
MEDEAMA END 46-YEAR WESTERN REGION TITLE DROUGHT
Medeama SC finally clinched their first Ghana Premier League title with a convincing 3-0 win over Tamale City at Akoon Park. The Yellow and Mauves have now become the 12th club to win the competition while ending a 46-year run following Sekondi Hasaacas’ glory in 1977 for the Western Region. They are also the third club to have won it for the region with Sekondi Eleven Wise being the other former champion having won it in 1960.
Medeama will now begin preparations for the CAF Champions League next year with the aim of trying to meet the new requirements as well as augmenting their squad for the competition.
This is their third major trophy following their two FA Cup triumphs in 2013 and 2015 where they beat Asante Kotoko on both occasions to win.
TAMALE CITY JOIN KING FAISAL AND KOTOKU ROYALS TO SECOND-TIER
Having suffered a final day defeat to the champions, the Tamale-based side have returned to the Division One League just after spending a season in the top flight. They lost to Nsoatreman in the Division One playoff last year but were handed another opportunity due to the demotion of AshGold where they beat off competition from Ebusua Dwarfs and Liberty Professionals.
They have, however, joined King Faisal and Kotoku Royals who were confirmed relegated before the final day with Great Olympics, Accra Lions and Nsoatreman all surviving.
ABEDNEGO TETTEH WINS GOLDEN BOOT
Bibiani Gold Stars striker Abednego Tetteh finished the season as the leading scorer with 18 goals in 29 appearances. He was given a good chase by Bechem United’s Hafiz Konkoni and Sampson Eduku of Tamale City who all scored 15 and 14 respectively.
Tetteh played only 19 games for Bibiani Gold Stars but his goals for the miners could have still been enough to win him the award as he netted 16 times propelling them to finish fifth on the table. His first two goals of the season came during his time at King Faisal at the beginning of the season. In the last four matches, the former Hearts of Oak forward netted seven times which widened the gap between him and his competitors. He also won four Man of the Match awards.
KOTOKO MAKE TOP FOUR AS HEARTS FINISH IN THE BOTTOM HALF
After a series of inconsistent performances and unwanted results throughout the season, Kotoko could only compensate their fans with a top-four finish while Hearts finished 12th on the table.
As Kotoko replaced Prosper Ogum with Seydou Zerbo at the beginning of the season, the Porcupines again lost faith and parted ways with the Burkinabe trainer which saw youth coach Abdul Gazale take over on an interim basis. Despite the fact that no significant improvement was palpable, they would accept their fourth-place finish and hope for better next season.
Unlike their rivals, Hearts of Oak were even on the verge of dropping into the danger zone but managed to get a draw on the final day against Berekum Chelsea and were even safer following Medeama’s victory over Tamale City.
FEWEST NUMBER OF POINTS TO WIN A GHANA PREMIER LEAGUE IN SIX YEARS
Medeama finished as winners with 18 wins, six draws and ten defeats accumulating 60 points from 34 matches.
It is actually the fewest points to win the league since Ghana adopted the 18-club system in the last three seasons.
Hearts finished with a point more while Kotoko pulled 67 points point which means Medeama’s points are only more than 2017 champions Aduana Stars who won with 57 in the then 16-club league.
