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The Royals settled for a draw in the match on the first day at the Accra Sports Stadium
Legon Cities’ new signing Asamoah Gyan watched from the bench as his team and Berekum Chelsea played a 1-1 draw in the opening match of the 2020-21 Ghana Premier League (GPL) on Saturday.
Signed on the day of the local transfer deadline in September, the Ghana legend was declared unfit for the match before the first tie of match week, only returning to the field after a long absence.
He was out of action since parting ways with the Indian Super League team NorthEast United in January.
In the end, two goals in the first half saw Legon and Chelsea share the spoils at Accra Sports Stadium.
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Captain Stephen Amankona scored the first goal to visit Chelsea in the 22nd minute, converting from the penalty spot after Kofi Owusu was fouled in the box.
In the 34th minute, Legon captain Jonah Attuquaye restored parity for the hosts, and also found the back of the net after a penalty.
“Asamoah Gyan is an experienced player and he still has some injury problems,” Legon Cities head coach Goran Barjaktarevic said before the first game of the season on Saturday.
We are working to keep him in shape because it is very important that when he returns, he returns in good shape. “
While Gyan wasn’t on the court on Saturday, he still played a key role for the Royals off the bench.
The former Sunderland, Udinese and Rennes striker was caught on multiple occasions by television cameras giving instructions to his teammates from the bench.
It is unclear if he will play any role in the club’s next game, an away tie against the Grand Olympics in what will be a local derby in Accra.
The 34-year-old returned to the Ghana Premier League for the first time since 2003, when he left the Liberty Professionals for Udinese.
He is currently Ghana’s all-time leading scorer and the most capped player, having scored 51 goals in 109 caps for the Black Stars.
The Legon-Chelsea clash was originally scheduled to follow a clash between Hearts of Oak and Aduana Stars, but the match was called off on Friday night due to confirmed cases of coronavirus infections at the previous team’s camp.
