Marked for Samukelo Mlaba
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Jan 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
This is not rotation. Harrison Baba has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Hasaacas is pretending otherwise.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
Albert Djiku: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Hasaacas have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words exchanged at Hasaacas
Rivio Ayemwenre and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The terraces24 Jan 2028
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Squad24 Jan 2028
A row about effort at Hasaacas
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eurichano Setila was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
Nobody on the pitch touched Isaac Djiku
7.56, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Hasaacas had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Ernest Nuhu was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Hasaacas dressing room was either.
Squad24 Jan 2028
A Hasaacas teenager takes the young player award
Isaac Djiku is 20, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
A brace, and Francis Asamoah takes the afternoon — 8.09
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Francis Asamoah provided it, and the 8.09 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market20 Dec 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Hasaacas, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Hasaacas may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words exchanged at Hasaacas
Rivio Ayemwenre and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The terraces20 Dec 2027
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match18 Dec 2027
Hearts of Oak made Hasaacas work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Match18 Dec 2027
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Hearts of Oak tried to reorganise, Hasaacas did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words at Hasaacas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eurichano Setila is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
16 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Jul 2027
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Maccabi Tel Aviv had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Boardroom12 Jul 2027
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $200.2K — a club that wants Elvis Addo enough to be asked twice.
Squad12 Jul 2027
A falling-out at Hasaacas
Rivio Ayemwenre and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market12 Jul 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Hasaacas, another week without a signature from Andy Ezekiel.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Hasaacas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Baba Waris is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
Enoch Nkrumah asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Jun 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Hasaacas can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Rivio Ayemwenre was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Hasaacas
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eurichano Setila was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Jun 2027
A falling-out at Hasaacas
Rivio Ayemwenre and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Hasaacas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eurichano Setila is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Hasaacas, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Hasaacas will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Abdul Mohammed has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout7 Jun 2027
Samukelo Mlaba: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Hasaacas have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Hasaacas
Rivio Ayemwenre and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Eurichano Setila falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
Rivio Ayemwenre asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market7 Jun 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad7 Jun 2027
One of our own is behind an import at Hasaacas
He is 30, he has been here since he was a boy, and the shirt he grew up expecting has been given to somebody flown in for it. That grievance belongs to the town as much as to the player.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Xolani Tshaka, and the manager let it.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
Open for business: Hasaacas enter the window
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 May 2027
Rivio Ayemwenre was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad31 May 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Eurichano Setila and Hasaacas agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad31 May 2027
Baba Waris falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout31 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Enoch Nkrumah, and the manager let it.
The dugout31 May 2027
Samukelo Mlaba knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Hasaacas, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad31 May 2027
Questions about Boubacar Sissoko on the training pitch
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 May 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout24 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Hasaacas may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad24 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hasaacas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 May 2027
Rivio Ayemwenre was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Hasaacas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eurichano Setila is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Boardroom3 May 2027
$2.9M on the table at Hasaacas
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Market3 May 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Hasaacas, another week without a signature from Rivio Ayemwenre.
The dugout3 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Samukelo Mlaba
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad3 May 2027
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
Squad3 May 2027
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Albert Paintsil has moved up it.
The dugout3 May 2027
David Schlupp asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout3 May 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Hasaacas. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
Patrick Boakye damages knee ligaments — 18 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 18 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Hasaacas may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Hasaacas
Rivio Ayemwenre and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Hasaacas
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eurichano Setila was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Enoch Nkrumah knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Hasaacas, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead29 Mar 2027
They sit in position 3 and they will be waiting. Away form is where a season shows its true character, and this side has a point to make about its own.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Mar 2027
Patrick Boakye damages knee ligaments — 26 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 26 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad22 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hasaacas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match20 Mar 2027
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Squad22 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Andrew Owusu and Hasaacas agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match20 Mar 2027
Late, late show earns Hasaacas a point
Minute 90, against Heart of Lions, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Match20 Mar 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Heart of Lions leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Hasaacas told Rocky Dwamena something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Half-satisfied: Ernest Nuhu on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Hasaacas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emmanuel Damilola is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Mar 2027
31 days out for Kwadwo Djiku after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Hasaacas will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad1 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Hasaacas
Rivio Ayemwenre and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market1 Mar 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Hasaacas, another week without a signature from Rivio Ayemwenre.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Ernest Nuhu chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Hasaacas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emmanuel Damilola is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match27 Feb 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Inter Allies came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Shots: 9, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Baba Waris beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 11. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Feb 2027
38 days out for Kwadwo Djiku after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Hasaacas will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Hasaacas
Thomas Adjei and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Hasaacas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eurichano Setila is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Felix Adjei and Hasaacas agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match20 Feb 2027
Level with 91 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Hasaacas had all but put away. Bechem United will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Marked 7.74 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Hasaacas had the best player on the pitch.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Hasaacas, and it is a cruel one.
Match20 Feb 2027
It needed Ibrahim Nurudeen to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Bechem United, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad15 Feb 2027
A fracture rules Kwadwo Djiku out for 45 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Hasaacas will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Rivio Ayemwenre was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match13 Feb 2027
0‑2 to Asante Kotoko, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Hasaacas
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eurichano Setila was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Eurichano Setila, and the manager let it.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Ernest Nuhu to a room that had heard them before.
Squad15 Feb 2027
6 new faces, and Hasaacas are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Market15 Feb 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Feb 2027
Kwadwo Djiku breaks a bone — 52 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 52 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Hasaacas
Rivio Ayemwenre and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Xolani Tshaka gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Xolani Tshaka has just signed for Hasaacas, and for once the answer mattered.
The terraces8 Feb 2027
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.33, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Samukelo Mlaba commits to Hasaacas for another 3 years.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
Ernest Nuhu: “That is the standard”
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.