Home Of Ghana News Ghana News, Entertainment And More
In honor of some mebers of Hearts of Oak’s iconic ‘Fearsome Five’, some streets in Accra Newtown have been named after them.
The group consisted of Mohammed Polo who is touted as the best dribbler in Ghana football history and arguably the best Ghanaian footballer of all-time, Mama Bomber Acquah, Peter ‘best man’ Lamptey(goal theif), Robert Hammond and Anas ‘Thunderman’ Seidu regarded as one of the greatet strikers in the club’s history.
Among the aformentioned names, Mama Acquah and Anas Seidu have had one street each named after them thus Mama Acquah St and Aseidu Thunder St.
The ‘Fearsome Five’ were an intimidating quintet filled with incredibly talented players who formed the spine of Hearts of Oak in the 1970s. They were a terrorizing group that opponents feared facing.
Their greatest achievement during their peak years was miraculously leading the Phobians to their first-ever African Cup of Champions Clubs (now CAF Champions League) final in 1997.
The quintet were at the were at the heart of one of the greatest comeback in the history of the competition dubbed ‘The Miracle of EL Wak.’
Hearts of Oak had lost 5-2 to Zambian side Mufulira Wanderers in the first leg with doubts cast over their possibility of making it to the finals.
The second leg played on November 6, 1997, is regarded as the greatest match in Ghana football history. A game that needed to be witnessed and feel how magic in football feels like and not to be told.
After a dull goalless first half the ‘fearsome five’ took matters into their own hands in the second period. Mohammed Polo tore apart the defense before setting put Anas Seidu to break the deadlock in the 59th minute.
Polo,again, set up the second goal finding Peter Lamptey to finish off a move and send the crowd into a wild-deafening celebration.
Hearts mysteriously completed the comeback with two minutes left on the clock after Mama ‘bomber’ Aquah sent in a cross after a trademark run down the flank for Anas Seidu to slot in his second of the day and secure qualification for the Rainbow side a ticket to the final.
The ‘Fearsome Five’ were involved in all the five goals Hearts of Oak scored over the two legs. Robert Hammond and Mama Acquah scored the two-way goals in the first leg while Polo, Lamptey and Seidu joined in on the action in the second leg.
Heart faced Haifa of Guniea in the final and lost 4-2 on aggregate.
Breif about members of the fearsome five
Mohammed Polo – alive
The superstar in the famous “fearsome five-some” squad, his absence was usually hard felt than those of his colleagues. Those who played with him say he was the greatest player, those who saw him play said the same thing, but those of us who never saw him can believe in the aforementioned group. Polo indeed was our greatest player.
His greatness is the oneness of conviction from all who ever saw him play – there are no grey areas or in-betweeners; they all say Polo is the greatest.
Mama ‘Bomber’ Acquah- Late
Mama Musah, a.k.a Mamah “Bomber” Acquah, died on Monday, August 28, 2006, at Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan, NY in the United States.
Mamah Acquah, the anchor of the great Accra Hearts of Oak team of the late 1970’s had been living in the United States for many years. He was brought to the USA during the formation of the United States soccer team called Cosmos, which also included Brazilian soccer great; Pele.
He also played for the senior national team, the Black Stars.
Peter ‘Best Man’ Lamptey – alive
Peter Lamptey (born 6 April 1946) is a former Ghanaian international footballer. He was the top scorer in the Ghana league in 1973 and played most of his club football for Accra Hearts of Oak SC and Great Olympics. While playing with Hearts of Oak, Lamptey, together with, Mama Acquah, Robert Hammond and Anas Seidu were known as “the fearsome fivesome.” He was often referred to as the “goal thief” for his scoring prowess. He later joined Accra Great Olympics which he played for in his latter years in football.
Anas ‘Thunderman’ Seidu – alive
Anas ‘Thunderman’ Seidu is regarded as one of the best forwards in the history of Ghana football. His role in the Fearsome Fivesome can never be underestimated and it was little surprise that he was part of the Black Stars team that won the AFCON trophy for keeps in 1978.
Robert Hammond – late
Robert Hammond died in 2017 after a short illness.
The ex-Ghana international was pronounced dead in the US, where he was residing with his family after calling time on his playing career.
He was part of the historic football game between Hearts of Oak and Santos at the Accra Sports Stadium which featured Brazilian star Pele.
