After a shocking performance on Sunday that saw the Phobians humbled by rivals Asante Kotoko in a highly-publicized friendly it is time for Hearts of Oak to learn serious lessons going forward.

Some of the things to be talked about have been said many times and yet after Sunday’s defeat they shall be repeated.

1.That when you lose your best players you sign equally good or better players to replace them. The absence of Thomas Abbey, Vincent Atingah, Leonard Tawiah, Winful Cobbinah were largely felt. It is true that with these players the Phobians still lost 3-1 in Tamale to Kotoko in October last year but the issue here is with these players mentioned Hearts of Oak never were dominated and beaten 2-0 by Kotoko without replying in Kumasi. Never. This defeat is a wakeup call to the Hearts board.

2.That Hearts of Oak is gradually becoming a Patrick Razak team. Joseph Esso joined from Dwarfs and his start has been fantastic but Razak still remains everyone looks up to in the games that matter. When he’s good, the team look good too but whenever he flops it affects the team and that was the case last Sunday. This should not be seen as just a mere friendly because the team was inconsistent even during the first round of the league.

3.Samudeen Ibrahim should know that a footballer talks more from the soccer boots, not from the mouth. Actions but not words. The midfielder was everywhere promising fans big things before the game but he was one of the bad performers on his team. He let his team down.

4.That Kwadwo Obeng Junior, 19 years, is a future prospect but what the club needs right now is a reliable goalscorer. When one compares the lead attacker of Kotoko Yacouba Songne last Sunday to that of Hearts of Oak Obeng, the difference in terms of quality was vast.

5.The last but not the least thing to note is the fact that Joseph Esso is very likely to miss Sunday’s game meaning things may get worse for the Phobians as the Fabulous side are confident more than ever following their superb display of football in the first leg. And the Phobians know what back to back defeats against Kotoko would mean.