Hearts of Oak's pursuit of Premier League leaders WAFA was dealt a big blow as Ahmed Toure's penalty earned victory for Bechem United.

The Phobians could have narrowed the gap to 4 points with victory at Bechem, but were well below par as the defeat saw the toppled by arch rivals Kumasi Asante Kotoko at the 3rd position

The Phobians, who had lost three of their regular starts to injury, were hoping to to keep up the fight after their loss to Ashgold and subsequent loss to Kotoko in the president cup.

Talisman Winful Cobbina and Patrick Razak could not make the journey, while right-back Fatawu Mohammed joined the Black Stars team B in a friendly at Togo.

The first half of the game was open with both teams showing a desire to win the game. There were chances for Kwame Kizito and Cosmoas Dauda of Hearts of Oak.

Ahmed Toure and Osei Abban also had chances to make it happen but hey failed spectacularly.

The second half proved costly for the Phobians whose head coach Frank Nuttall will without a doubt be a man under so much pressure after this performance and the defeat.

The 10 loss leaves Hearts of Oak on 33 and pushes them down to 4th on the league game only ahead of Dwarfs on goal difference.

The Hearts  players looked disconsolate as they trudged off the pitch, their heads bowed, while their Bechem  counterparts - and the home fans - took great delight in harming the phobians' title ambitions.

By Fiifi Abdul Malik