It took a while, but Accra Hearts of Oak look ready for a title race. Since losing to Asante Kotoko, Accra Hearts of Oak has not lost a match in the league. The Phobians have won five and drawn twice, in a run stretching back to December 12, 2024. In that time, Hearts have only conceded three goals and have scored ten times. And it has not been without challenges. Hearts have been without center-back Kelvin Osei Assibey and playmaker Saani Mohammed. The latter has moved on to Danish first-division club, AC Horsens. At the same time, Asibey’s injury (and the conditions of Ransford Mensah and Yahaya Adraman) have forced the Phobians to make significant changes to the backline. Amid these adversities, pardon the hyperbole, others have emerged. Michael Ampadu, a fan favorite and the most experienced right back in the league, has re-emerged after resolving his differences with coach Aboubakar Ouattara. The former Liberty Professionals defender has added an extra layer of calmness at the back and enthusiasm further up the pitch. Konadu Yiadom, Hearts of Oak’s marquee signing in 2022, has become a regular feature in Ouattara’s team. Previously discarded and forgotten, Yiadom has risen from the ashes, like the Phoenix, to feature in the last five matches, starting the previous four. Hussein Mohammed’s return to fitness has also been remarkable and on Saturday, he showed why he is the Phobians' best bet at winning the league. Bit by bit, Ouattara’s team is showing a certain resilience and consistency not seen in a while.Even his fiercest critics will admit that he has given the team a semblance of an identity. By Hearts of Oak’s very high standards, that is not enough. Per league-winning metrics, that is marginally inadequate. Closest title race since 2000 At the moment, they are averaging 1.8 points per game. If that does not improve or deteriorate, Hearts will finish the season with 61.2 points. Post-COVID-19, the league has been won with an average of 62.25 points. Hearts of Oak won the title in 2020/21 with 61 points. Asante Kotoko (67), Medeama (60), and Samartex (61) have won the subsequent titles. Hearts of Oak’s projected 61.2 points would have been good enough to win the league in three of the last four seasons. Yet, there are three other clubs expected to finish with a similar or better average. Asante Kotoko and Bibiani Gold Stars, both on 37 points, are currently averaging 1.85 points per match and at this rate, will finish the season with 62.9 points. In the past 20 years, each time the league has been by more than 62 points, Asante Kotoko has been the team to do that; 69 points in 2007/08, 63 points in 2011/12, and 67 points in 2021/22 seasons. Kotoko’s trump card Last Sunday, Kotoko gave their fans something to cheer about with a 2-0 win over Legon Cities. In many ways, that result was to be expected. Legon Cities were chasing only their first away win all season. They are the worst-performing away team in the league, having picked up just one point from ten matches, and losing the remaining nine. Kotoko is the second best-performing home team in the league, with 25 points from 11 matches. But Cities horrible away form and Kotoko’s home record are not the only reasons the Porcupine Warriors were favorites for this. Kotoko are notoriously opportunistic as an institution and are at their best when they band together against one enemy, perceived or real. For a big club, their posturing of being victimized is almost ironic if not hypocritical, but the siege mentality it creates is brutally effective. It is no coincidence that the most successful managers of the club were all anti-establishment. Yaw Barwuah, Herbert Mensah, K.K Sarpong etc. It is almost as if it is a requirement for the job. That is why the gruesome murder of Francis ‘Pooley’ Frimpong, may just be the needed wind in Kotoko’s sails. On February 11, Nana Apinkrah Akwasi Awuah, the Asantehene’s Nkontomponiaferehene and chairman of Kotoko’s two-year-old interim management committee, scolded the GFA for not visiting Kotoko earlier following the demise of their fan, Nana Pooley. "It would have been nice if GHALCA had come here for this meeting earlier, before the IGP even did. For the GFA, we know they don't value us, but we will force you to respect us whether you like it or not. We will show you we are Kotoko and Hearts." The GFA indeed ought to have visited earlier as a matter of courtesy. It is what tradition also demands. However, the tone of the chief’s displeasure was strange. It was as though he was addressing an adversary with whom Kotoko shared an irreparably broken relationship. To say that Kotoko was not valued was conjecture at best. Perhaps in their incompetence, the GFA had failed to reflect its appreciation of Kotoko. Not that it valued others more. Yet, it's ‘‘we will force you to respect us whether you like it or not’’ is exactly the kind of bravado that Kotoko fans expect from the club’s leadership. Even though the enemy is, in this case, perceived, the club’s posture of being victims, and not the enablers and participants of hooliganism that they are, will create a siege mentality. Prosper Ogum, the club’s coach, tapped into it “We are trying to overcome it but sometimes it looks like a dream but then it's a reality. Because of my attachment to him (Pooley), it was very difficult for me to overcome. "If you look at the body language of the players, it wasn’t that pleasant. But what I told my players is that they should minimize watching his (Pooley’s) videos and reading publications about him because the more you read publications about him, the more it looks like his (death) is not true but it is true," he said after Sunday’s win. Kwame Opoku, who scored Kotoko’s second on Sunday, has now taken his season’s tally to five goals in six league matches. His goals are the reason Kotoko has maintained its scoring rate despite losing Albert Amoah, who had scored 60% of the club’s goals at the time of his injury. Amoah is expected to return to action this month and should provide an extra layer of firepower, for Kotoko, who face defending champions Samartex and relegation-threatened Young Apostles in consecutive away games. Gold Stars While Kotoko will be seeking to make capital gains, Gold Stars will be keeping tabs, waiting to pounce.The miners have consecutive away matches to Aduana Stars and Holy Stars. Their away form may cause a few headaches to coach Frimpong Manso. Gold Stars have amassed 11 points from 10 matches, having won three, drawn twice, and lost five times on their travels.Like their title rivals, the Gold Stars are not the most prolific team. They say a good team is built in the image of its coach and Gold Stars are proof of that. Coach Frimpong Manso has built this team on sound defensive principles, is fearless, and operates with a clear path to goal. Yet, their pragmatic approach is not at all ultra-defensive. Their build-up is more fluid and direct than most teams in the league. Where they lack, is the number of match winners they have. Sunday’s goal was Michael Nkoah’s third goal in the league after sixteen starts. The club’s main source of goals is Atta Kumi, a shrewd signing from Karela United in 2024. If Gold Stars are to sustain their impressive run, new goal-scorers need to emerge to supplement Kumi, who has scored seven goals so far – three of them were against Accra Lions in January. But where are the attacking options? Charles Kamara Gyamfi, who has looked impressive in spurts, is yet to score in the league. However, considering he only scored one goal in 23 league matches last season, chances are that he may not score a ton. Then there is Alex Aso, who scored eight goals for the club last season. The forward has only featured twice this season and has no goals in the league. Winger Ronald Frimpong has seen more games – 15 in total, but is also yet to score. In December, Gold Stars signed Michael Osei from Division One League side Accra Great Olympics. He is yet to score after three substitute appearances and one start. Frimpong Manso will have to find solutions from within. If it’s any consolation, none of the clubs have an abundance of goal scorers and until they find one, Gold Stars have to keep relying on their rear guard to keep their title hopes alive.