Bashir Hayford ready to give chances to fringe players to end Heart of Lions’ poor GPL run

Heart of Lions head coach Bashir Hayford has disclosed that he is ready to give chances to young and fringe players in the team in a bid to end their poor run in the Ghana Premier League.

The Kpando-based team failed to win any of their last five matches in the first round of the 2025/26 Ghanaian top-flight league campaign.

On Wednesday, Heart of Lions played against lower-tier side Na God FC in the Round of 32 stage of the MTN FA Cup.

In the game, Bashir Hayford started some fringe players and gave opportunities to young players as they cruised to a 2-0 win over the opponent to advance into the Round 32 stage.

Speaking in his post-match interview, the experienced tactician revealed that it was all part of a bigger plan to give the reserve players more opportunities in the second round of the Ghana Premier League.

“I think things were not going well for the past four matches that we have played. And so, as we are preparing for the second round of the season, the time is too short, so we prepared for both the FA Cup and the match with Dreams.

“We wanted to test the pulse of those who have not played regularly so that when we kickstart the second round, we will see how we can mix them up and see if we can get good results,” Bashir Hayford told Heart of Lions TV.

He added, “This match has proven to me that some of them can play, some are yet to improve. So it was a good test match for me, so that Ican  see those who can possibly start for me on Sunday.”

After the FA Cup victory, Bashir Hayford hopes his team will secure victory against Dreams FC in their upcoming Ghana Premier League Week 18 fixture.