|
 It was a historic Monday- Sylvester
By: David Kyei, Kumasi
Posted:13th May 2008
It was a match not fit for the faint hearted. It had the trappings of a drowning man throwing in all his efforts to survive, and for Kotoko, the efforts did pay off.
That is the story that was well told and displayed by the great porcupine warriors, the fantabulous Asante Kotoko F/C when they locked horns with the River State lads, Dolphins F/C, at the Baba Yara stadium last Monday.
The tension of the match was heightened by the fact that the match had to be rescheduled from the original day due to a torrential rain that made the Baba Yara stadium pitch unusable.
Kotoko had to go through Sunday’s match with the pain of having their 44th minute goal in scored on Sunday technically struck out thereby making the team go through the pain of re-playing the match on Monday with a 0-2 deficit.
If the pain of re-playing the match was too much, what off having to go through the rest of the game with an own goal in the 21st minute? That looked a tall order for the faint hearted, but to the Kotoko players who had so much to lose in promises if they failed to qualify to the next stage of the competition, it was a chance for them to prove to the huge attendance at the stadium that they had come of age.
This they did by cancelling out the own goal in the 46th minute and went on to pummel their stubborn opponents by 4-1 with goals being scored in the 70th, 85th and 89th minutes.
A victory won the hard way was worth celebrating, and therefore was not a surprise to see the chairman of the management board of the club, Sylvester Asare Owusu, join the players and the few supporters who made it to the inner perimeter to celebrate the victory.
Sweet victory it was, but how did Chairman Asare Owusu go through the motions of the fight for the success.
“Those who sat by me at the VIP section knew my position from the start of the whistle to the end of the match. I told them that from what I have seen of the team from the league through to the confederations cup matches; there was no way we were going to be kicked out by Dolphins”.
“Moreover, having worked with the players some time now, we in management have come to strike a bond between us that we take promises from each side seriously, and so having been promised a qualification to the next stage by the players, I had the full confidence that it was going to be well for us”.
According to the elated chairman who did two laps of honour in celebration of the victory, the performance of the afternoon was something that had not been seen of the club in the continental series since 20th September 1987 when Kotoko came from a goal down in the 5th minute to beat Zamalek of Egypt by 5-1 at the same stadium. Kotoko goals in that match were scored by Sarfo Gyamfi (6th & 77th minutes), Prince Opoku (9th & 45th minutes) and Saarah Mensah (81st minute).
 “That is the kind of spirit we had for a long time been yearning for and today, the players have shown that they have the character to deliver even on a difficult day”.
The players perhaps did not have the choice but to win at all cost to make it to the next stage of the competition for reasons the management team hinted of.
“First, it was an issue of not failing the over forty thousand fans who went through sunshine and rain to fill the stands at the stadium and secondly, we gave them a very attractive incentive package that really raised their appetite for success”.
Much as he was not ready to count the cost of the success of the match, he was happy to chip in that;
“The outcome of the match has really justified the means and cost we incurred in preparing the team for the victory. Whatever it, the benefit to be derived far outweighs the cost and I am happy that our players lived up to their porcupine warrior accolade and duly made minced meat of Dolphins”.
Success and performance over Dolphin may be savored for a while, but is it the end of the journey for Kotoko? What does the opportunity to beef up their squad with the registration of additional players mean to Kotoko? and many of such questions are the ones that may be going through the minds of the fans and for these, Chairman Asare Owusu had the answers.
“We have laid a systematic plan that will see us move progressively from one step to another. Having finished with Dolphins, our nest step is to successfully go to Accra to beat Heart of Lions and move on to win the other league matches that have been lined up for us”.
“For now, we know no stoppage of the success journey we have started. We shall go on and work around the clock to ensure that we get our entire arsenal ready by the time we go into the next confederations cup match”
“Getting ready will include bringing on board some other players whose registration did not go through the other time. It will be an opportunity that we do not in any way want to take for granted,” he emphasized
Patrons to the Baba Yara Stadium on Monday for the match will attest to the fact that the match recorded an attendance that has not been seen in recent times. Besides, the fans did not become stand warmers, but actively participated by singing and making all sorts of noise to cheer their warriors on.
“Kotoko has always been described as a football institution with largest following in the country, but the display of support as seen at the Baba Yara Stadium today has really sent a good signal to the players. They have been assured that they have the supporters behind them in all that they strive to achieve for the club”
“On behalf of management and my own behalf, I will like to commend the fans for their show of love and urge them to continue what they have started, and be assured that we in management will always make things happen for their enjoyment,” he ended.
|
