Amakye Ansah at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium
With a few minutes left in the game, Asare won a cross in the air when he competed with the towering figures on the pitch.
The Phobia fans chanted, ‘USA USA USA USA USA’. They chanted in support of their goalkeeper Benjamin Asare. The chants were a simple message to Otto Addo: Asare deserves to be the number one goalkeeper for the Black Stars of Ghana at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Benjamin Asare, 33, looked like a Commander-in-Chief who was so certain of victory over his opponents on the battlefield.
Sunday afternoon at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium featured the Super Clash, where the two glamorous clubs of Ghanaian football faced each other in round 22 of the Ghana Premier League for an important three points.
Commander Asare, as I have nicknamed him, had a great afternoon and rubberstamped Otto Addo’s decision that he should be the first-choice goalkeeper for Ghana with commanding performances.
Baba Adamu’s header in the 15th minute put the Phobians ahead after a less inspiring opening minutes. Hearts of Oak’s patience throughout the whole week was demonstrated on the pitch as Mas-Ud Didi Dramani’s charges kept their composure in dealing with Kotoko’s incessant attack.
A second yellow card in the 27th minute to Hearts of Oak’s defender Emmanuel Amankwah gave the Porcupine Warriors a numerical advantage. A lot was expected from the red fans across the Yellow Stand, Red Stand and the V.I.P.
The battle became tough for Didi-Dramani because he had only ten men on the pitch. What was next for him, tactically? He lost star striker Hamza Issah to injury in the 24th minute, with George Paaku replacing him. Amakwaah Baafi replaced Mohammed Hussein in a bid for steel and stability in the 35th minute.
Arguably his best game in Phobia colours, the former Accra Great Olympics goalkeeper, Benjamin Asare, needed a performance of this kind to reaffirm Winfred Schafer, the Technical Advisor and GFA Director of Football of Ghana, who commented that Asare is the best player in the GPL.
Former Hearts of Oak and Black Stars forward Charles Taylor did not agree with Schafer’s comments on Angel TV last week, so Asare needed to be at his best to kill Taylor’s distrust.
“Asare is not the best goalkeeper in the league”, Taylor said. “Medeama, Bibiani Gold Stars and Samartex goalkeepers are all good keepers, so the scout must do well,” he added.
To prove Ghana’s Roy Keane wrong, Asare needed a good show in this crunch tie. When Hearts of Oak went down to ten men in the 27th minute, many thought Kotoko was going to make a comeback.
The skipper for the visitors stepped up and started to command and control his men. Kotoko posed a danger from the flanks with right back Lord Amoah and left back Patrick Asiedu swinging in pinpoint accurate crosses into the Phobia box. Asare never cowered and dealt with all the dangerous balls.
With just five 10-minute periods to end the game, Asare became a cheerleader by bringing the best out of the anxious Phobians fans in the green stands. His gestures to the fans to keep on believing in the team were the ultimate.
When Mawuli Wayo was put through by the substitute Frank Abora Duku to make it 2-0, the red-hot forward failed to beat Camara as his shot hit the Guinean goalkeeper. The unbelievable miss added much pressure to the team, but Asare decided to calm things down whenever he got the ball. He recorded his fifth consecutive clean sheet in the league, making him the undisputed king.
The late bloomer has unexpectedly dethroned Lawrence Ati-Zigi and Joe Wollacot to become Ghana’s number one since Otto Addo returned as the head coach after the 2023 AFCON debacle in the Ivory Coast under Chris Houghton.
In the goalkeeping department, there is no two ways about the fact that Ati-Zigi remains a threat to regain the number one slot. The St Gallen goalkeeper, who was the undisputed first choice in the Qatar 2022 World Cup, must work harder to reclaim his lost position.
With only four months left for Otto Addo to submit his final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Ghanaian players across the globe are putting up performances that will attract the head coach, and Asare’s one in Kumasi will surely kill any doubt in the technical team about him.
Asare looked so commanding in the air, well composed with his passes and was incredible in the organisation of his defence, as usual. His man-of-the-match award is a testament to his hard work and determination.
