Hearts of Oak midfielder Malik Akowuah has urged his teammates to show grit in their much anticipated clash with Asante Kotoko on Sunday.

The Phobians will hope to appease their teeming supporters with a victory over their arch-rivals after their abysmal showing in the 2-1 defeat against Tema Youth in midweek at the Tema Sports Stadium.

And Akowuah has reckoned that it will a disaster on their part should they fail to pick the maximum points against their sworn rivals on Sunday.

Speaking on Silver FM, Akowuah said, I've never played in such high profile match before, although I've equally played in high tempo games with both sides at a different club."

"The game is a massive one and considering our current situation in the league, we can't afford to lose or even draw in this game against Kotoko,'' he declared.

The former Medeama SC kingpin continued: "All that we want is to clinch all the three maximum points at stake and judging from our preparations before the match; I can assure you nothing but a victory. We want to leapfrog some clubs to go top of the league table from our current position."

''We've lost some crucial points so far and it’ll be very upset to lose six points in our last two games. We'll continue to sink on the log sheet should we lose against Kotoko."

''So we must do everything possible to win the game in order to keep our title winning ambition on course. Our operation plans of amassing nine points in our last three games didn't materialised and so a draw will not even be good for us."