Kotoko beat Kessben 2-0 in premier league

Kumasi, May 28, GNA - Two goals scored by Kwadwo Poku enabled Kumasi Asante Kotoko to beat Kessben F/C 2-0 in their mid-week Onetouch Premier league match played at Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Wednesday. Poku first hit the back of the net in the 4th minute with a right footer, which beat Mohammed Alhassan in goal for Kessben in a swift counter attack after the visitors had made an early threat in the 3rd minute with Douglas Nkrumah missing the post narrowly. Kotoko continued to probe for more goals and nearly increased the tally in the 8th minute but skipper Emmanuel Osei Kuffour headed away a perfect corner kick taken by Francis Akwaffo.

Kessben took over but the opportunities that came in the 17th and 25th minutes did not yield dividends as Douglas Nkrumah's terrific shots were beautifully saved by goalkeeper Eric Nii Baah in goal for Kotoko. Kwadwo Poku, who proved a real substitute for Eric Bekoe in Kotoko's attack made it 2-0 for the home side when he shot into the blind side of the keeper after the latter had failed to make a first time save in the 28th minute.

In the 34th minute, Kotoko's substitute goalkeeper Isaac Amoako took over from Nii Baah after the Red Cross men had failed to treat him to continue with the game after colliding with an attacker in an aerial contest. Kessben from then came into the picture and made series of incursions but the impregnable Kotoko defence manned by Samuel Inkoom, fast improving George Asare, Isaac Addison and Prince Anokye would not bulge. Kotoko in the 45th minute came close to scoring but Ofosu Amoah shot wide when he had a perfect cross from Jordan Opoku on 45 minutes. On resumption, Kessben brought in Owusu Debrah for Sampson Cudjoe to start the game but Kotoko continued to besiege their territory with perfect short and accurate passes with Jordan Opoku's shot being parried to corner by the goalkeeper in the 50th minute. Kessben scored a goal through Bismark Idan in the 56th minute but it was disallowed by referee Jonathan Tetteh on the grounds that the scorer had handled the ball when he fell down with Kotoko's goalkeeper before hitting the net. Both teams exhausted their substitutions with Kessben sending Akwasi Adu in for Michael Ofosu Appiah in the 60th minute and Richard Mpong for Bismark Idan in the 73rd while Kotoko also brought in Kwabena Yaro for Osei Kuffuor and Stephen Oduro for Ofosu Amoah in the 56th minute and 75th minutes respectively. As if satisfied with the two goals, Kotoko recoiled into their shells and allowed Kessben to dictate the pace of the game for the greater part of the second half but try as the new entrants did, they could not translate their chances into goals. 28 May 08