Hearts of Oak coach Samuel Boadu believes his team’s failure to defend the Ghana Premier League title was due to injuries.
The Phobians’ league campaign came to an end on Sunday with a 4-1 loss to Real Tamale United at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Hearts, who started the season as defending champions, finished in a disappointing sixth position. They trailed league champions Asante Kotoko by 19 points.
“The injury problem, because lots of players in the first team got injuries, Salifu Ibrahim, Addo Sowah and Nurudeen Abdul Aziz.
“It got to a point Barnieh was not feeling well and travelled, but I think this is the team we had to depend on and that cost us,” Boadu said.
Hearts of Oak have a trophy to fight for this weekend when they face Bechem United in the MTN FA Cup final in Kumasi.
