He said the striker took part in the club's training sessions throughout the week but surprisingly asked to be excluded just a day before the match with Liberty Professionals.

Responding to a question in a post-match interview about the absence of the player in the said match, Coach Abubakar said, “I know he reported sick.

"That’s what he told us. After our last training, I announced the selection but he immediately stood up in front of us all and said he was sick.

"Such a thing could demoralise the entire team. I expected him to tell me personally and not in the open. We have started registering new players and anybody who is sick we wish him well," he added.

The match saw Aduana Stars beating Liberty Professionals 2-1, with the former converting a penalty kick through Sam Adams as early as the ninth minute after Nathaniel Asamoah had been brought down in the box.

Liberty Professionals pulled one back in the 21st minute through Bernard Arthur, only to be punished again in the 84th minute by striker Bright Adjei who headed home a rebound after goalkeeper Eric Andoh had pushed the ball loosely in his direction.

Coach Abubakar said despite the team's good performance there were still some lapses to be worked on.

The Coach said the team was currently saddled with injuries, saying that, "we had only one reserve defender before going into the Liberty duel.

This notwithstanding, "I'm happy with the performance of those who replaced the injured players."

He congratulated Liberty Professionals on their good performance, describing it as impressive and being the only team to play "attacking and defensive football at the same time; something visiting teams seldomly do in Dormaa".

Coach Abubakar said he would approach the next game against Wa All Stars in Wa with the right mentality in the face of mounting pressure.

"We will need to cool down and not allow ourselves to be put under pressure. If we do not check this it could have a negative impact on the team.

"At this stage and level, we must try and control pressure, otherwise it can affect them", the Aduana coach noted.