Kotoko stretch lead in Premier League
Kumasi Asante Kotoko opened a four-point gap on second placed Hearts of Oak, while AshantiGold’s unbeaten run came crashing at Edubiase as the Premier League hit the 10th week at the weekend.
Michael Akuffo’s first half drive proved decisive for the defending champions as they beat Liberty Professionals 1-0 in Kumasi last Saturday, but any hopes by Hearts to keep pace with the Porcupine Warriors were smashed by a resolute King Faisal display as they split honours with the Phobians in Accra, courtesy a 1-1 draw.
For AshantiGold, it was a sad end to a fine run that had included a win over Hearts and a draw at Heart of Lions’ dreaded Kpando backyard as Bashir Hayford’s men squandered a first half penalty before bowing 0-2 to New Edubiase at Bekwai.
Just a week earlier, Kotoko had returned from Kpando badly bruised by Lions’ stinging claws following a 2-0 thumping, but any hangover from that “long trip” was quickly shed off by Akuffo’s 36th minute goal, reports George Ernest Asare, Kumasi.
But for Akuffo’s goal that hit the wall before deflecting into the net, with goalkeeper Yaw Berko completely stranded in the Liberty post, there was little to choose between the two sides.
Liberty have always been tough customers for Kotoko, and their competitiveness in the entire affair was no surprise.
Yet, it was the news of Hearts’ 1-1 draw with visiting King Faisal that might gladden the hearts of Kotoko faithful, the Phobians needing to claw back from an early deficit to pull even at the break, report Peter Sarbah and Benard Neequaye.
Sulley Mohammed had given Faisal a sixth minute lead against the run of play, the striker finishing off a quick counter after Winful Cobbinah’s freekick came off the Faisal bar.
Romeo Agban’s acrobatic strike drew Hearts level after 43 minutes, but the rest of the game brought no reprieve for their looming slip as Faisal held on with a combination of a determined display and interesting antics.
In the end, the Hearts fans turned their anger on various participating characters, including Referee Ortis Oppong and his assistants, the Faisal players and even Hearts players.
