By Ken Bediako
In my recent write up on football legends from the erstwhile Brong Ahafo Region, I mysteriously left out the names of Kwasi Owusu and Dan Owusu, the most amazing twin strikers the nation has produced.
The records are clear and it’s a real mystery that it escaped my memory. My very close critic has admonished me to stop relying strictly on my 84-year-old memory and re-check the records. Agreed Sir.
According to the records Kwasi and Dan were so dominant in the 1975 league that the pair scored a total of 52 goals out of the 65 scored by their third placed Bofoakwa Tano.
Dan Owusu scored 28 goals to win the SWAG national Goal King Prize and Kwasi Owusu had 24.
Infact Dan Owusu had won the goal king title in 1974 with 24 goals and making it three in a row in 1976 with 28 goals.
I have taken the advice of my devoted critic and hereby publish the remarkable scoring chart of Kwasi and Dan Owusu. Make no mistake they are not family members Just the name sake.
Their amazing partnership actually peaked during the second week of the 1975 National Football League, on February 16, when Bofoakwa thrashed Volta United 4-1 at Sunyani. Kwasi Owusu scored a hat-trick and Dan Owusu added the 4th. Then in their next match, Dan Owusu was the lone scorer in Bofoakwa’s 3-1 defeat to Fankobaa at Swedru.
Dan Owusu was also the match winner in Bofoakwa’s 1-1 home draw with Dwarfs. The trend continued so beautifully. Here we go with the statistics.
5th week: Susu Biribi 1 Bofoakwa 3 (Dan Owusu got hat-trick)
6th week: Bofoakwa 2 B.A. United 0 (Kwasi Owusu, Tweneboah)
8th week: Bofoakwa 2 Hearts 3 (Dan Owusu got both goals for Bofoakwa)
9th week: All Blacks 2 Bofoakwa1(Dan Owusu).
11th week: Obuotabri 1 Bofoakwa 1 (Dan Owusu).
12th week: Corners 0 Bofoakwa 3 (Kwasi Owusu 2 Dan Owusu 1);
13th week: Olympics 2 Bofoakwa 2(Kwasi Owusu, Dan Owusu);
14th week: Bofoakwa 2 Kotoko 1 (Kwasi Owusu, Dan Owusu)
15th week: Bofoakwa 3 Akotex 0 (Kwasi Owusu 2, Dan Owusu 1)
18th week: Bofoakwa 3 Hasaacas 1 (Kwasi Owusu 2 Dan Owusu 1)
19th week: Volta United 0
Bofoakwa 1 (Dan Owusu)
20th week: Bofoakwa 3 Fankobaa 0 (Dan Owusu, Kwasi Owusu, Adamu)
22nd week: Bofoakwa 6 Susu Biribi 0 (Kwasi Owusu 2, Dan Owusu, Adamu, Boahen, Agyeman)
25th week: Bofoakwa 1 Hearts 0 (Dan Owusu).
26th week: Bofoakwa 1 All Blacks 1 (Kwasi Owusu).
28th week: Bofoakwa 6 Obuotabri 2 (Kwasi Owusu 4 Dan Owusu 2)
29th week: Bofoakwa 2 Corners 0 (Dan Owusu).
30th week: Olympics 0 Bofoakwa 2 (Boahen, Dan Owusu).
31st week: Kotoko 3 Bofoakwa 1 (Dan Owusu)
32nd week: Akotex 4 Bofoakwa 3 (Dan Owusu 2, Kwasi Owusu 1).
33rd week: Bofoakwa 1 Ghanacan 3 (Kwasi Owusu)
34th week: Bofoakwa 5
Gbewa 1 (Dan Owusu 2, Kwasi Owusu, Adu Gyamfi, Agyeman)
This is the solid record of the amazing twin strikers of Ghana football When cometh another. They need to be celebrated.
It is my fervent prayer that with the recently unveiled progressive programme of the Ghana Football Association to inject more finances into the running of the Premier League, many more talented youth will be encouraged to take to the game. They should be motivated to give of their best thus attracting lovers of the game to pay and fill the stands to cheer them on to achieve success in their chosen profession.
Ghanaians have a high sense of admiration for the best in all aspects of life especially in the field of entertainment and recreation. If the going is right, there won’t be the need, for example, to bus football fans to the stadium if they are assured of real entertaining league matches featuring talented players like we had in the not-too-distant past.
We should be able to take good care of our players for export like Sly Tetteh’s Liberty Professionals of old did in the days of Coach Jones Attuquayefio. When these obviously polished players feature for the Black Stars the expectant crowd will rush to cheer them on.
The general feeling is our home bred exported international players, like the Stephen Appiah led Black Stars squad of old, appear to feel more at home than the current foreign bred “imported Ghanaians”.
It is hoped the current breed of bank roller football club chairmen will seek the welfare of the youngsters in their care so we can give true meaning to what profession al football is all about.
Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.
