Ghanaian trio Edmund Arko-Mensah, Mohammed Adams and Nasiru Banahene have won the Finnish Cup with FC Honka following a 3-1 win over Inter Turku in the final on Saturday.
FC Honka went into the match with the aim of avoiding another breathtaking shootout like they had against SJK during the semifinal clash in which the Yellow and Blacks won 4-3.
Coach Vesa-Pekka Vasara deployed an attacking tactic, leaving out Arko-Mensah and Banahene on the bench, with Adams missing the game due to an injury he sustained in the semifinal victory against SJK last week.
Despite having greater share of the ball in the opening minutes, FC Honka fell behind courtesy a strike by Benjamin Kallman in the 9th minute.
Henri Aalto restored parity for FC Honka in the 34th minute to the delight of the fans at the Tapiolan Urheilupuisto Stadium.
Florien Krebs put FC Honka ahead 14 minutes into the second half before Lucas Kaufmann sealed the famous win with a fantastic goal in the 71st minute.
Arko-Mensah was summoned from the bench as a replacement for Niilo Saarikivi in the 74th minute to help shore up the defense.
The former Ghana U-17 star became the toast of the vociferous fans in the dying embers of the match with his intelligent runs on the left flank.
Banahene however failed to make an appearance in the match but his team held on to collect their first silverware of the season.
The Ghanaian trio are expected to play key roles in the club’s efforts to win this season’s Finnish Championship.
FC Honka will engage Swedish side Djurgradens in a friendly encounter next Sunday before they kickoff the Finnish Veikkausliiga campaign against HJK Helsinki on April 2.