In the opening match of the 2023/24 Ghana Premier League season, Real Tamale United (RTU) secured a victory that Hearts of Oak's head coach, Martin Koopman, believes they rightly deserved.

The match was held on Friday evening at the Aliu Mahama Stadium.

Koopman fielded a formidable Hearts of Oak lineup, which included debutants Michael Ampadu, Kelvin Osei-Asibey, Liventius Attur, Martin Karikari, Evans Adomako, Kofi Agbesimah, and Congolese striker Wanet Kashala Ramos.

On the other hand, RTU's coach, Abdulai Abdul Mumin, had to rely on young talents, with only a few regulars from the previous season making it to the starting lineup.

Real Tamale United dominated the first half and created numerous scoring opportunities, but they failed to capitalize on them. Hearts of Oak's goalkeeper, Richard Attah, made crucial saves to keep his team in the game.

RTU eventually secured the victory with a stoppage-time goal from striker Owusu Afriyie.

After the match, Koopman admitted that RTU deserved the win, stating, "In the first half, RTU had many chances. So, we can't deny that they deserved the victory.

They scored from a corner kick in the last seconds. Overall, I believe they deserved to win the game," as he spoke to StarTimes.