Kotoko to go for broke?

Kumasi Asante Kotoko are in one of their perilous moments but which can set them on a frantic bid to pull a rare victory to appease their disappointed fans from a terrain that has almost proved unfavourable in games against their arch rivals, Accra Hearts of Oak.

 Beleagured coach, Michael Osei and his skipper Amos Frimpong, are acutely aware that a slip at this critical stage against the Phobians at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Sunday will bring the entire Kotoko establishment crumbling on their face, particularly Coach Osei, whose job must have been tied tenaciously to this fixture following events in the past few days.

Since taking over from Coach David Duncan, Michael Osei has inspired confidence with his personal accomplishments, taking Kotoko from the rubbles to a Premier League title reckoning.

 But it has taken a draw against their growing nemesis, Bechem United, and a sobering 4-1 defeat by Cape Coast Ebusua Dwarfs to blast everything to leave them with the unwanted prospect of relinquishing the title chase to their bitterest rivals.

However, in the face of these troubling moments, Coach Osei, who broke down after last Wednesday’s defeat, is holding on to Kotoko’s new-found dominance over the Phobians in recent times, including the famous 1-0 win at the Accra Sports Stadium in May this year.

He told Graphic Sports yesterday that he was relaxed and expectant to turn the tables in favour of Kotoko and with the exception of Eric Donkor, he had Tuffuor Frimpong, Evans Quao, Dauda Mohammed and Theophilos Nyame to count on to ride the storm.

For Hearts , whose confidence appears to be at its zenith, the current generation, made up of Robin Gnagne, Inusah Musah, Isaac Mensah, Patrick Razak and Samuudeen Ibrahim, has an opportunity to ride on Hearts’ traditional superiority on the Kumasi stadium terrain.