Accra Hearts of Oak put in yet another fine display on Sunday to snatch a point against ten-man Elmina Sharks as they came from behind to draw 1-1 in their match day 8 encounter at the Nduom complex at Elmina.
Elmina Sharks dominated the first half and deservedly found the opener through experienced James Bissue. The midfield gem produced a magnificent display as he cut through the Hearts of Oak defence like knife through butter before slotting home for the first goal of the game.
Hearts turned on their style in the second to claw back into the game. Umar Manaf made a beautiful attempt to score but his effort went over the bar in the 17th minute.
Elmina Sharks hit back in the 20th minute through Benjamin Tweneboah but his effort went wide.
The Phobians grew in confidence and nearly equalized just after the half-hour mark but goalkeeper Bawa Martey stood tall to make a superlative save, denying the Phobians the equalizer. The Elmina Sharks faithful had their heart in their mouth.
Hearts of Oak continued their push for the equalizer before the break but Elmina Sharks thwarted their efforts with some gusty defending.
Left-back Raddy Ovouka sent a perfectly weighted pass to Daniel Afriyie but a timely clearance by the sharks defenders denied him a goal.
Just before the break, Justice Ato Mensah narrowly missed an empty goal. Referee Benjamin Sefa waived play to continue after Sharks talisman Benjamin Tweneboah went down inside the box.
Tweneboah got booked for a yellow after protesting the decision of the referee.
Hearts of Oak's pressure paid off as they fetched the equalizer through Victor Aidoo who headed in a cross from Fatawu Mohammed in the 64th minute to cancel the lead.
After 76 minutes, Benjamin Arthur of Elmina Sharks received the marching orders after a second yellow card.
Hearts of Oak coach Kosta Papic introduced Patrick Razak for Daniel Afriyie in the 77th minute to add bite to the team upfront.
The tempo of the game dropped as the home decided to pack men behind the ball to avoid an embarrassing score line. Umar Manaf, Patrick Razak and Isaac Mensah stretched Sharks with loads of wing play in search of the winner but Sharks always had men to thwart their effort.
Accra Hearts of Oak are unbeaten in their last three games, winning two and drawing one. They now sit in 5th place with 12 points while Elmina Sharks drop to 11th with 10 points.
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