Kotoko to puncture Hearts’ ego
The wait is finally over, with two of the country’s glamorous clubs, Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak, literally shaking the foundation of the Baba Yara Stadium when the two come face to face in their much anticipated Ghana Premier League (GPL) fixture.
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Ollenu Ashitey remains the only doubtful player for Coach Steve Polack as he is still recovering from injuries he sustained during the tragic road accident involving the Porcupine Warriors last month, which claimed the life of assistant welfare officer, Thomas Obeng Asare.
Besides Ollenu, the team doctor has cleared every player fit for tomorrow’s encounter but the supporters are not amused because they feel the team needed much longer time to recuperate. As a result, the Kotoko fans have managed their expectations for this game and are hoping to console themselves with the outcome should they beat Hearts of Oak.
Notwithstanding the uneasy feeling among the fans, skipper Amos Frimpong had early this week declared that they were ready for the encounter and had long consigned the event to history and are ready to face their archrivals at the Baba Yara Stadium.
A few weeks back Coach Polack’s side had the better of Hearts of Oak during the President’s Cup at the same venue where Kotoko won 4-1 on penalties after the game ended barren in regulation time. Whatever magic coach Polack employed to silence the loud Hearts fans might surely be revisited.
On the contrary, even though Frank Nuttall was not at the helm of affairs when the phobians mauled their rivals 3-1 at the Accra Sports Stadium during the Ghana @ 60 match, he could draw some inspirations from that tactics to repeat the dose.
Luckily, his assistant, Henry Wellington, who masterminded that big fall, would definitely be in the dugout to support Nuttall plot another defeat on the Baba Yara turf which ideally tends to favour the visitors.
Both managers favour similar tactics (4.4.2) with the managerial acumen of Polack (English) and Nuttall (Scottish) expected to clash and the one with the superior game plan would reign supreme on the day as both sides parade some of the best players in the country.
Available statistics put the Garden City club behind the Phobians in terms of clashes between the two sides and out of the 102 league games played Hearts have won 34 against 31 for Kotoko with the rest ending in a stalemate.
As to whether Hearts would stretch the gap or the Porcupine Warriors would close in after tomorrow’s clash, still remains a big puzzle that would be answered on Sunday.
