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Wikki Tourist will be treated nicely – Jerry Asare
By: Jerome Otchere,
25th March 2008
Despite being treated badly during the club’s visit to Nigeria to honour the first leg of the 1/16thh stage match CAF Confederation Cup, Kotoko’s Director of Operations Jerry Asare says the Nigerians would be given a warm reception when they travel to Ghana in two weeks time for the second leg tie. Jerry Asare says the relationship between Ghana and Nigeria goes beyond ordinary friendship.
And to confirm Ghana’s profound hospitality and maturity, the Director of Operations disclosed that officials and players of Wikki Tourists would be accorded a warm reception in Kumasi.
There were reports last week that Kotoko’s contingent in Nigeria suffered some rough reception especially upon arrival in Lagos. Reports said the team was perched in a terribly bad hotel for a night in the Nigerian commercial city of Lagos before being flown to Jos the next day and later driven to the match venue, Bauchi in northern Nigeria.
However, the Director of Operations says the team encountered no difficulties with arrival formalities at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos but was quick in condemning conditions at the hotel given to the team.
“Conditions there were poor” he said. “I would not blame them much. They have little or no experience in some of these things. We told them at the technical meeting that if their action was deliberate, then it was unfortunate. When they come to Ghana we will accord them a good reception” Jerry Asare promised.
In his analysis of the match itself, the Director of Operations praised the players for exhibiting a spirited performance in the face of all the bad treatment. “The team’s performance was admirable. But for the few moments of lack of concentration, we would have wrapped victory to Ghana. All the same, the 2-2 draw is satisfactory. I would not sound complacent or over confident. I am however sure that the least number of goals Wikki Tourist will concede in Kumasi will be 3-0” he predicted.
The Director of Operations gave some credit to the Nigerian side. Yet he insisted that besides having their fans behind them, the referee also gave the Nigerians undue advantages. “Their equalizing goal was for instance a hand ball” he said. The player scored with his hand. We accepted all that to fight hard for this respectable draw” he stated.
Jerry Asare also disclosed that the poor nature of the pitch did not help the course of the game. “In sincerity, the pitch was bad. That also affected our performance but we are still grateful to God. The two away goals cannot be a fluke. We worked for it and we believe that victory will be ours in the second leg encounter” he said. Outlining the team’s program for the next couple of weeks, Jerry Asare first talked of a friendly match against an Akim-Oda select side.
That match was supposed to be honoured yesterday. The Director of Operations said that the team would go on a short break after which serious preparations would start for the home match. He reminded the players that the competition had just started and that there would be no room for laxities. He also called on Kotoko supporters to rally behind the club as it sought to redefine its image on the continent.
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