ACCRA (AFM) - It is no surprise that the name of a club in Ghana’s Premier League might catch the eye of a casual observer. After all, on the country’s top flight schedule you are likely to see the likes of Mighty Jets face off with Dwarfs or King Faisal’s Babes or even Hearts of Oak test their courage against Heart of Lions. However, seeing the very familiar name of ‘Chelsea’ planted at the top of the Ghanaian table has caused more than a few double-takes.

While their considerably more illustrious London namesakes have been suffering through a rough patch, the West African club have amassed a seven point lead in the league. With traditional heavyweights Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko off the pace and defending champions Aduana Stars eight points back with 14 matches to go, Ghana's unheralded ‘Blues’ are in with a serious shout of winning their first competitive trophy of any nature.

What’s in a name?
Formed just over a decade ago as Semereka FC, the club revealed their ambitions in 2004 by taking the name Chelsea around the time the entire continent was falling in love with the English team with the African presence. In the meantime, Ghana's Chelsea have developed a reputation similar to the Didier Drogba and Michael Essien-led Blues: hungry for success and not afraid to challenge the established order. And since reaching the Premier League three seasons ago, they have also proven themselves capable of winning big matches. Having originally taken shape in a town named Berekum, 400km northwest of Accra in the Brong-Ahafo Region near the Côte D’Ivoire border, the club moved early in their history 80km away to Bechem to avoid local competition and was known as Bechem Chelsea. But after reaching the top flight, they moved back and took the name Berekum Chelsea, thus setting up a remarkable local derby with Berekum Arsenal, named for another London club.

Whatever their name, home has been sweet for Chelsea this season. They have claimed 22 out of 24 possible points at Golden City Park, allowing just two goals in eight matches. That has allowed them to improve on their last two seasons in the top flight, when they finished fifth and eighth. There was a sense of things to come last season, when Chelsea stunned leaders AshantiGold in the last match to hand the title to Aduana. The relatively new club have picked up in more consistent fashion this term, drawing at Hearts of Oak, beating the champions at home, knocking off early pacesetters Kessben and then coming from two goals down away to humble Asante Kotoko 3-2. That win not only solidified their title credentials, but it was a first-ever victory by Chelsea over the former African champions in Kumasi.

This success has been something of a surprise because in many ways it has been a tumultuous season for the club. Lee Addy, a rising prospect with the national team who won the league’s Defender of the Year Award the last two seasons, moved to Europe in the Autumn, and the club has gone through a succession of coaches even since the end of last term. However, they seem to have found their man in the form of Ghana U-20 coach Orlando Wellington.

Wellington, who was an assistant on the team that won the U-20 World Cup in 2009, signed with Chelsea in October just two days after leading the Black Satellites to qualification for the 2011 African Youth Championship, and he will keep both jobs. It was an issue with his previous club, but the coach has settled in well and he says the team are wary but confident. "We know it will not be easy [to win the league], but we have played well, trained well and are very determined and confident that we can hold on and become champions," he said.

An attack to admire
Chelsea’s collection of promising talent is such that they had the most players, seven, called up to Ghana’s 30-person preliminary squad for the African Nations Championship (CHAN), which is a continental tournament made up of players in the domestic leagues. Remarkably, Chelsea had four attackers named in the team, including the heralded duo of Emmanuel Clottey and Bismark Idan.

Clottey, 23, has drawn plaudits this year with his pace and composure in front of goal. Having had a small amount of experience on loan with clubs in Europe, he has stepped up a class to lead the team with six goals so far, and he recently made his first full international appearance. The compact but explosive Idan, who was the league’s top scorer with Kessben FC last term and has netted four times so far this term, is being tipped to possibly follow Clottey to the Black Stars.

The other two attacking players in the team are well-regarded as well. Emmanuel Osei Banahene is a powerful striker with a marksman’s eye, while the fourth is well-known forward Obed Owusu, who won a cap with the national team in 2009 and scored the winning goal in extra time over Mighty Jets this past weekend. Also part of the CHAN squad are the impressive midfield duo of Yaw Alexander and Mohammed Abdul Basit, who has tallied five times this season. Left back Alfred Arthur was called up also, but missing was goalkeeper Ernest Sowah, who many feel also has a national team future.

It's a balanced team with plenty of options in attack. Perhaps none at the level of Drogba, but Ghana's Chelsea have demonstrated great self-belief and determination, as in this past weekend when Owusu scored a long-range screamer with the last kick of the game to maintain their lead at the top. But the high-flying Blues are trying to keep their feet firmly on the ground. “It’s not yet over," said the goal-scorer after the Mighty Jets win. "It is left with 14 matches so we can say we are champions. We have to fight hard and approach every match seriously like we did today."

Copyright AFRICAN FOOTBALL MEDIA, 2011

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