In the sweltering heat of McDan Park and the vibrant turf of St. Thomas, the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB) Bankers Football League served up a weekend of nail-biting draws and emphatic triumphs on September 27, underscoring why this corporate showdown remains one of Accra’s most fiercely contested spectacles.
With only two weeks left in the 2025 season – the finale set for mid-October – Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) clung tenaciously to their perch at the summit, but a cluster of pretenders refused to yield ground, while basement-dwellers United Bank for Africa (UBA) suffered a humiliating capitulation that has all but sealed their fate.
The action in the McDan segment kicked off with a pulsating 2-2 stalemate between National Investment Bank (NIB) and Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG), a result that kept both sides firmly in the title mix.
NIB, who had briefly tasted the summit earlier in the campaign, showed their mettle with a late equaliser, but it was enough only to maintain parity with the chasing pack.
Stanbic Bank, ever the resilient outfit, ground out a gritty 1-1 draw against FirstBank, a point that coach Emmanuel Tetteh described as “vital in this marathon of a league.”
Omnibsic Bank’s clinical 1-0 dismissal of Absa propelled them up the ladder, injecting fresh momentum into a side that has quietly assembled a formidable run of form.
Republic Bank’s 2-1 edging of GTCO provided one of the day’s more satisfying narratives, with the Tridents’ forward line, dismantling a GTCO defence that has leaked goals like a sieve this term.
Yet it was CAL Bank’s 0-2 reversal at the hands of NIB that raised eyebrows. FirstBank bounced back with a hard-fought 0-2 victory over CBG, while Omnibsic’s momentum carried over in a 2-1 scalp of GTCO. UBA’s woes deepened in a one-sided 0-7 drubbing by UMB – yes, seven goals to nil – a scoreline that evoked memories of the Lions’ torrid start to the season and left their supporters shell-shocked.
Société Générale (S.G.) salvaged a modicum of pride with a 0-2 win over CAL Bank, but the damage from earlier felt irreparable.
Over at St. Thomas, the fare was no less enthralling. GCB’s goalless deadlock with Ecobank was a tactical chess match, with both goalkeepers earning man-of-the-match nods in a fixture that prioritised preservation over panache.
UMB edged SG 1-0 in a cagey affair while Bank of Ghana (BOG), roaring back to form, dismantled Access 2-0.
Ecobank’s 0-2 setback against Zenith was another blow to their mid-table aspirations, though BOG’s blistering 4-1 rout of Stanbic – a revenge mission executed with ruthless efficiency – lit up the venue.
