Soccer News of Monday, 1 September 2008

Source: GNA

Kotoko fans react to team's performance

Kumasi, Sept. 1, GNA - Some supporters of Kumasi Asante Kotoko Football Club have expressed mixed reactions following the club's narrow 1-0 win over El- Merreikh of Sudan in their CAF Confederation Cup match played at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, Kumasi on Sunday.

Whilst a section of the fans described the feat as a deserving victory for the 'Porcupine Warriors', others lambasted the playing body and technical team for their lukewarm attitude towards the match.

Speaking at separate interviews with the GNA Sports after the match, Alhaji Issahaku Nantoma, a retired physiotherapist stated that Kotoko did what mattered most by beating the Sudanese club to clinch the three maximum points at stake.

"Even though El- Merreikh came into the match with the sole aim of defending for a drawn game I commend the Kotoko attack for penetrating the defence to score the only goal of the match that gave us the victory", he said.

Alhaji Nantoma expressed the hope that the team would lift up their game in subsequent matches to enable them realize their dream to win the Confederation Cup.

Desmond Otuo-Tuffour, a sports analyst attributed Kotoko's slim 1-0 margin victory over the Sudanese to what he termed as wrong tactics adopted by the technical bench.

He could not come to terms as to why for instance the technical team decided to leave the likes of Stephen Oduro and Kwadwo Poku on the bench for a long period before deciding to field them at the closing session of the game, claiming that a different story would have been told if the said players had been brought on earlier.

Otuo-Tuffour urged the technical team to endeavour to vary their game plan in their next matches and be alert in making the necessary substitutions on time for the benefit of chalking the needed victory. Madam Adwoa Amoa, a trader commended striker Eric Bekoe for living up to expectation by scoring the only goal of the match and urged the players to shun complacency and be well focused on the tournament. Kwaku Baah, a staff of the National Sports Council (NSC), appealed to all well-meaning supporters of Kotoko to desist from castigating the playing body in times of difficulties but rather rally solidly behind them to help ginger them to win the ultimate Cup.