Hearts of Oak shook off their narrow defeat at rivals Asante Kotoko to outclass Berekum Chelsea 3-1 at the University of Ghana and put themselves firmly in the Premier League title mix on Saturday.
Hearts goalkeeper Sharif Shuaib was handed his first start of the season in place of first-choice Benjamin Asare, who is on international duty with the Black Galaxies preparing for the 2024 CHAN qualifier against Nigeria.
Ahmed Ramzy Yussif opened the scoring for the Phobians in the 16th minute before striker Hamza Issah added the second five minutes into the second half. Chelsea fought back to pull a goal back through Emmanuel Sarpong but Kwabena Boateng restored Hearts' two-goal advantage with the third goal in the 62nd minute.
The result lifts Hearts of Oak to 5th in the league table with 22 points and trail leaders Heart of Lions by just two points.