Kotoko gears up for Santos

Kumasi Asante Kotoko is aware of the threat posed by South Africa’s Santos as they meet this weekend in Ghana’s second largest city, Kumasi for a return leg of the African Cup Winners Cup.

Head coach, Enrst Middendorp has already warned his team of the strength of the South African side and that they would have to brace up for a tough challenge on Sunday.

The porcupine warriors drew 3-3 with their rivals in far away Cape Town two weeks ago giving them a bright chance to quality for the quarterfinal stage of the competition.

However, last week Middendorp fired a warning shot that complacency could come at a great cost to the Kumasi-based royal team who have the advantage of playing on home soil.

“Scoring three goals means Santos are also capable of scoring. It would be dangerous to consider it a done deal yet, because they are a quality side, especially as they would soon be crowned South African champions,” Middendorp told Graphic Sports’ Maurice Quansah in Johannesburg.

“To top the league that has such quality teams as Kaiser Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Sundown shows just how strong Santos are, so we don’t have to take things for granted.”

The 3-3 drawn game at the Green Point stadium enhanced Kotoko’s chances to reach the quarterfinals. Middendorp, though, expects the team to keep their foot on the accelerator so as to make qualification certain, especially as defensive blunders robbed them of victory in Cape Town.

“In Kumasi, we must make good use of our chances and also try to stop Santos from scoring. As such we have to present a better defence because all the goals we conceded in my opinion resulted from individual mistakes by our defenders. But on the other hand, I like to score a lot of goals and that’s the strategy and mindset with which we’ll play in Kumasi,” Middendorp explained. The German coach is also counting on the support of the teeming Kotoko supporters.

Even though Kotoko’s often-praised rock-solid defence is beginning to show cracks, the attack seems to be pushing the right buttons. Newly signed striker Nana Arhin-Duah is proving to be worth the huge investment, while Michael Osei has also hit top form at the right time. The two expected to spearhead their attack on Sunday.

Against Santos the two shortish strikers combined to hit the back of the net in the first half, but a mistake by Godfred Yeboah and a poorly-formed wall enabled Santos to come back.