Asante Kotoko succumbs to a 1:2 defeat to Elsetif in the CAF confederation cup playoff
Kotoko were expected to do better than what they have done today, considering the teams form lately. They are top of the Ghana Premier League table and have had mixed season but the performance of the team after the sacking of Maxwell Konadu has been up, and many thought they could have translated that domestic performance, to beat their counterparts from Algeria, who are also doing well in their league.
Both teams lost only once in their last five games.
The porcupine worriors failed to utilize the possession they were enjoying , and ended up not scoring during the first half. It will have been a deservedly lead if they had scored.
The teams came back strongly in the second half, both trying to find the opener, but it was Kotoko who gets that chance after Kwame Opoku. After Kwame Opoku’s opener, the Algerians fought back to get a leveller, it didn’t took them time when Mohammed got the equalizer after a defensive blunder.
The pressure was now on Kotoko to score another goal, atleast to give them a home advantage but things got out of hand when Ferhan through a counter attacking play registered his name onto the score sheet.
The Algerians were now assured of their safety especially leading their opponents in the second half of the game, which gave them an away advantage over Kotoko.
Just as the game was reaching it’s end, Kotoko got a penalty and Keta took the spot kick but unfortunately he couldn’t make it.
Kotoko will travel to Algeria on February 21, failure to get a win will crush them out of the competition again, just us San Pedro did to them last season and Al HILAL also crushing them out of the CAF Champions league.
But Kotoko’s performance today wasn’t bad at all, especially looking at their performance in the first half. Coach Abdulai Gazale will need to work on the negatives and prepare his team well for the return fixture.
By Saaka Yakubu Issah
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