Kotoko will surely play in the finals - Ebo Quansah

... They are peaking at the right time

These are happy times for followers of Fabulous Asante Kotoko. No doubt about that. The way the club survived the scare against El-Mahalla in the second leg to qualify for the semi-finals of the African Cup Winners Competition told the story of a club prepared to go the very limit. The 4-0 annihilation of A.S. Police of Congo Brazzaville at the Fast Track Stadium (I guess you know what), tells a lot about the capabilities of Asante Kotuku these days.

I bet with the way, they are playing, it will take a miracle for their opponents to haul themselves back into contention. And miracles do not merely happen these days. Forget about what some quack prophets profess about miracles, the bottom line for success is effective preparation and supreme confidence. Asante Kotoko have both.

I missed the semi-final first leg in Kumasi. I was away in my holy village- Ekumfi Ekrawfo, celebrating Akwanbo Festival, the annual ritual that retraces the route our ancestors took to settle in after the long trek from Tachiman. But I followed everything on radio. On Monday, GTV and Metro livened the living room with clips on the match. It was great. One hopes the carnival continues to the final of finals, which fittingly will be staged at the Kumasi Sports Stadium.

At this stage in Kotoko?s campaign, one hopes all Kotoko followers will unite to give the club the peace players and officials need to concentrate on their assignment. Watching television clips what interested me most were the passing and movement, inter-positional play and the ability to vary passes. It looks like the old vintage performance is back. I was impressed by the way, Stephen Oduro, skipper Gordon Ablodey and Hamza Mohammed seized the midfield from the Congolese.

That left A.S. Police with very little attacking option and freed the Kotoko defence to aid the attackers on the flanks especially. That gave Kotoko several attacking options. And on a day that Nana Arhin-Duah, Michael Osei and Shilla Alhassan had the confidence to pick on all loose balls in the opponent?s danger zone, the result was never in doubt from the blast of Nigerian referee Chuku Chukwudi Callistu?s whistle.

From what I saw on television, Kotoko are benefiting immensely from effective coaching and though the jury is still out on the club?s German coach Ralf Zumdick, early indications are that he will do a very good job.

Chief Executive Herbert Mensah has done a wonderful job. There are no two ways about that. He started with a rebuilding. It looks like the brickwork, ceiling and plastering is complete. We now await the painting that will give the club a real colour and the furnishing. Last Sunday, was a great outing for Kumasi Asante Kotoko, no doubt about that. But as coach Zumdick said borrowing a leaf from Manchester United army of fans, it is not over until it is all over. Kotoko should be prepared to sacrifice a little more in the second leg.

One hopes the Confederation African de Football (CAF) will take a cue from the way Kotoko were mistreated in the second leg encounter with El-Mahalla and put pressure on the Congolese to offer decent accommodation and generally treat the Ghanaian visitors as they were handled in Ghana.

I have every confidence that Kotoko will reach the finals. It will represent a personal triumph for Chief Executive. My only hope is that he tones down his temper, which is threatening to undermine his good works.