Thirty-eight years after the University of Ghana hockey team has snatched the glittering Ghana University Games hockey trophy from the host team, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), a member of that victorious team, Mr Kwame Owusu, says the aura that surrounded the victory left an indelible mark on his mind.

“One match that left an indelible mark on my mind was at the GUSA Games in Kumasi in 1982. During the grand finale of the Games between KNUST and Legon, we (Legon) were considered the underdogs because, before the Games, KNUST was considered the best hockey team, especially after their massive victory over Winneba in their first match,” Mr Owusu recalled during an exclusive interview with Graphic Sports Online in Accra.

“When the game started, they scored the first goal but we worked hard to win the match 2-1 and took the trophy at stake. After the match, the hockey pitch turned out to be a funeral ground for our opponents because they virtually wept like babies who had been robbed of their precious toys.

“I will never forget that match because we did not consider ourselves as underdogs, but our opponents assumed that because of the number of national players in their team. They could beat us easily, but eventually we proved a tough nut for them to crack because we had played as a team for a long time,” he recalled while beaming with smiles.

Mr Owusu said prior to the match, KNUST was considered the best team of the tournament “because they had seven top national team players so they felt on top of the world and regarded us as easy prey to devour. That explains why I consider this particular match as the most memorable in my career”.

He said besides the 1982 victory over KNUST, his two penalty stroke goals against Exchequers that won Citizens Internationals two gala trophies in Accra also stood out.

“The penalty goals I scored against Exchequers during our two encounters at the grand finale of the gala tournaments in Accra were also memorable because on both occasions the champion was decided by penalty strokes and in each time, I was the last to take the penalty stroke to decide the champion,” he narrated.