Mohammed Zaidan scored two minutes from full-time as Karela United secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Hearts of Oak in the Ghana Premier League.
The late strike at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium ended Hearts’ unbeaten start to the season after four matches and handed Karela a valuable three points on Matchday Four.
The encounter produced an entertaining contest, with Karela United looking the more threatening side for long periods but initially struggling to turn their chances into goals.
The home side started with greater attacking intent and created several promising opportunities during the opening half. However, their finishing let them down as Hearts of Oak’s defence managed to withstand the pressure.
Hearts also had chances of their own but were unable to match Karela’s attacking threat consistently.
The two sides went into the interval level at 0-0 despite an action-packed first half.
Karela continued to push forward after the restart as they searched for the breakthrough, while Hearts looked to remain organised and frustrate their hosts.
The decisive moment finally arrived in the 88th minute.
Zaidan produced a fine individual effort, dribbling his way through the Hearts defence before keeping his composure to fire a low shot into the net.
The goal sparked jubilant celebrations inside the stadium as Karela held on during the closing stages to claim all three points.
The victory provides Karela United with an important boost early in the campaign, while Hearts of Oak suffered their first defeat of the season after four matches.
Karela United will hope to continue their impressive performance when they travel to play Asante Kotoko, while Hearts of Oak travel to play Dreams FC in the next round of games.
