Medeama lost 1-0 at Samartex as the home side returned to the top of the Ghana Premier League table after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Medeama in the Western derby on Sunday.

Francis Gyetuah’s 37th minute strike separated the two regional rivals at the Nsenkyire Stadium in Aboi.

Samartex are now back to the top of the table after Nations FC jumped to the top 24 hours earlier after their riveting 1-0 win over Great Olympics. Samartex have restored their two-point advantage after the hard-fought win against the Mauve and Yellow.

Samartex goalkeeper Kofi Baah was back in post for the Timber giants following a recovery from malaria.

Baba Hamadu also returned to lead the attack as the home side strolled to victory.

Medeama coach Nebojsa Kapor opted to shuffle his pack with Kelvin Nkrumah and Diawise Taylor on the bench while injured Jean Vital and Derrick Fordjour were not involved.

However, midfielder Manuel Mantey and captain Baba Musah Abdulai recovered in time to make the match day-squad.

Samartex proved they have the resilience to go the distance in a two-way title fight.

And they reclaimed the top spot in business-like fashion, against a Medeama side that has struggled for form since our exit from the group stage of the CAF Champions League.

Samartex have jumped to 45 points and in firm grip at the top of the table, two more than their closest-challengers Nations FC on 43 points.

Aduana Stars FC are lurking in third on 39 points with defending champions Medeama dropping to 9th on the table with 33 points.