President’s Cup is for Kotoko — Osei
Hearts of Oak’s Portuguese trainer, Sergio Traguil, faces his first major test today as he leads the Phobians into a ‘repeat or vengeance’ thriller against sworn rivals Asante Kotoko in this year’s President’s Cup match at the Accra Stadium this afternoon.
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The two giants go into this ceremonial encounter to honour the sitting President with their pride and reputation to protect, while Hearts carry an extra burden as the defending champions, especially after losing 0-1 to their opponents in their first round league clash at the same venue on May 3.
Coming off barely a month to their highly-anticipated second round clash in Kumasi, today’s battle could offer some clues to pundits and fans as to what lies ahead.
Without hiding their determination to avenge last year’s defeat to Hearts on penalties, the Porcupine Warriors flew straight to the capital shortly after beating Wa All Stars 1-0 in Kumasi last Wednesday, courtesy a meticulous arrangement by the organisers, GHALCA.
Without taking chances, Kotoko requested for a direct flight to Accra ostensibly to avoid any inconvenience which could jeopardise their vengeance ambition. Last year, the Phobians had the last laugh when Michael Akuffo missed his kick during the 5-4 penalty shootout which followed their barren draw.
Since then, the two sides have gone through a transition which has affected even their technical direction, hence the likes of Akuffo, Ahmed Toure, Selasi Adjei, and goalkeepers Eric Ofori Antwi and Soulama Abdoulaye would be missing in action in today’s game.
In terrms of coaching, young ambitious Michael Osei, who masterminded the recent league victory, will be seeking to break Hearts’ cup-winning tradition over Kotoko, while Sergio tries to prove a point in this his first local ‘El-clasico’.
With a GHC50,000 each participation fee on offer from GHALCA’s internally-generated funds, players of the two sides will certainly be motivated to sell out an entertaining game in a bid to lift the magnifent trophy and medals provided by the governement.
The match can be dubbed ‘the clash of the Daudas’ as Hearts need to be wary of Kotoko’s young predating striker, Dauda Mohammed, whose rainbow counterpart, Cosmos Dauda, can also cause havoc on a good day.
Hard-running Cosmos, especially, was on target against Dreams FC and Liberty Professionals in their last two games. Interestingly, Kotoko and Hearts secured four points from their last two league matches, making today’s encounter too close to call as always.
In commemoration of Ghana’s 56th Republic Day anniversary, similar derbies will be honoured by Premiership and Division One clubs at the various centres across the country.