Jonathan Essien

Defensive Midfielder - Heart of Lions
30 Aug 2036
Saturday
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Marked for Jonathan Essien

447 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

19 Feb 2035
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings19 Feb 2035

Martin Karikari scores twice — 8.18

Two goals and a mark of 8.18 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Market19 Feb 2035

Mohammed Ofori hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Heart of Lions can pretend not to have heard.

The dugout19 Feb 2035

Christian Addo says Heart of Lions went back on their word

“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.

Squad19 Feb 2035

Eze Matthew in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heart of Lions this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad19 Feb 2035

A row about effort at Heart of Lions

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kwesi Pong was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match17 Feb 2035

Martin Karikari sends Heart of Lions past Inter Allies

It finished 2‑1, and it was Martin Karikari’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Heart of Lions.

The dugout19 Feb 2035

A satisfied Interim Coach

“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Interim Coach could afford to be generous.

The dugout19 Feb 2035

Kwesi Pong gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Kwesi Pong is on it.

The dugout19 Feb 2035

The manager makes an example of Thomas Afful

“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.

In brief

Back issues
446 Edition

The Heart of Lions Herald

12 Feb 2035
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match10 Feb 2035

Nowhere to hide for Heart of Lions

0‑5 against Bechem United, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

Squad12 Feb 2035

Eze Matthew keeps Heart of Lions in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Market12 Feb 2035

Joseph Schlupp asks to leave Heart of Lions

“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.

Squad12 Feb 2035

A falling-out at Heart of Lions

Eze Matthew and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match10 Feb 2035

The goals have deserted Heart of Lions

3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Heart of Lions can tell you which week it ends in.

Squad12 Feb 2035

A row about effort at Heart of Lions

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kwesi Pong was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Market12 Feb 2035

Bernard Kudus steps up from the Heart of Lions academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Bernard Kudus has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market12 Feb 2035

One of our own: Abdul Atiemo joins the Heart of Lions first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Abdul Atiemo is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market12 Feb 2035

Jonathan Essien steps up from the Heart of Lions academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Jonathan Essien has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

In brief