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 Poor pitch marred Arsenal-Kotoko game
By: Jerome Otchere
Tuesday, 14/03/08
Supporters of Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Berekum Arsenal who thronged the Golden City Park to watch Wednesday’s Onetouch Premier League midweek action were denied beautiful football artistry by the horrible state of the pitch at the Golden City Park.
There was nothing golden about the goalless drawn game played at the rocky Pitch.
The game was played on a terribly rutted and uneven pitch. Parts of the pitch at the Park looked like a deserted gravel field. Other parts that had grass also appeared like an overgrazed pasture. Both sides could therefore not exhibit any good ball control and brilliance although the Gunners enjoyed more possession particularly in the second department of the game.
Coach Bashir Hayford expressed his views on the poor nature of the pitch in a post match interview with the Kotoko Express. “Excellent ball control and good passes were not seen. Unless you train on that Park, there is no way you can play there. We did not see good football. Kotoko have not played on anything like this for sometime now. The turf did not allow us to play well. We kicked and followed the ball. We did not play any set-pattern. We packed the midfield, ballooned and chased the ball” the coach said.
 Pre-match events like the beefing up of security at the match venue did not go down well with supporters and officials of Berekum Arsenal for reasons best known to them. The heavy military and police presence to a large extent put the fear of God in potentially unruly supporters as they clearly could not carryout their usual acts of hooliganism and barbarism.
The atmosphere was tensed, full of intimidation and threats. A number of anti-football elements from the camp of Berekum Arsenal who found their way to the Park casting insinuations, insulted and threatened to beat-up Kotoko supporters should the club win. Director of Operations Jerry Asare in the face downright provocation was spat on and heckled. He had to be given strong protection as he walked across supporters of Berekum Arsenals during recess.
After watching the game in such a hostile environment, most Kotoko supporters heaved a big sigh of relief immediately Class One Referee Samuel Gyasi from Nsawam brought proceedings to an end. The reasons for their great relief was not far fetched, the obvious one being that Wednesday’s encounter was a tricky one and that for Kotoko to have stormed Berekum and returned unscathed was quite good.
It is worth stressing that the heavy security presence compelled potentially unruly spectators to recoil into their shells and walk back quietly. Thus nothing bad happened but again it can be said that the Golden City Park has still not shirked its notoriety for intimidation.
 On the match itself, Coach Bash altered his line-up this time, starting goalkeeper Eric Nii Baah, Seydou Dagano and Kwabena Yaro who did not feature in the duel against Hearts of Oak.
“I decided to rest some of the guys after Sunday. Soulama, Jordan and a few others had to be given rest. Barring no changes in their form, these players will feature in our last game against Real Tamale United in Kumasi” Coach Bash told me in a post match interview.
For the third game running, striker Eric Bekoe could not score. It was not as if he came up against a militant defensive strategy as witnessed at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium in the Hearts match. Eric Bekoe and every other Kotoko player, perhaps with the exception of goalkeeper Eric Nii Baah encountered difficulties in keeping the ball on the pitch. Therefore the Porcupines’ inability to keep the ball on the ground took some shine off of their play. Like a pendulum, the ball swung from one direction to the other as they tried to bring it under control.
Thus it was a boring and scoreless first half. Kotoko did not create any clear cut chances much like Berekum Arsenal. Prince Atakora’s good header which almost hit the cross bar in the 5th minute was the closet Berekum Arsenal came to scoring and for Kotoko, Harrison Afful’s 46th minute terrific strike which was punched to safety by goalkeeper Shaibu Issaku was their brightest scoring opportunity.
There were three yellow cards in first half, one to Henry Ohene Brenya of Berekum Arsenal and two others to Seydou Dagano and Daniel Nii Adjei. Berekum Arsenal pinned Kotoko back throughout the second half. The defensive quartet of Samuel Inkoom, Harrison Afful, Daniel Acquah and Prince Anokye were strong enough to prevent a goal. Goalkeeper Eric Nii Baah, starting his first league match of the season made several spectacular saves too.
Nana Arhin-Duah, Eric Bekoe and Kwabena Yaro sometimes combined well upfront to break the Gunners’ defence but the poor nature of the pitch constantly spoilt their creative organisation. Substitutions by Coach Bash did not add anything new to the game. Bash brought on Kobina Dodzie, Stephen Oduro and Kwadwo Poku for Nana Arhin-Duah, Osei Kwame Junior and Eric Bekoe respectively yet the rutted pitch killed the inventions of these players. Berekum Arsenal however seemed comfortable on the patched field but they could as well not score.
Kotoko's line-up:
Eric Nii Baah, Samuel Inkoom, Harrison Afful, Daniel Acquah, Prince Amponsah, Seydou Dagano, Osei Kwame Junior/Stephen Oduro, Daniel Nii Adjei, Kwabena Yaro, Eric Bekoe/Kwadwo Poku, Nana Arhin-Duah/Kobina Dodzie.
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