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Jerome Otchere previews Kotoko-King Faisal derby on Sunday
Posted 7th June 2008
Having lost to Real Tamale United in Wednesday’s outstanding league match, Kumasi Asante Kotoko return to the Baba Yara Sports Stadium this Sunday to host city rivals, King Faisal, in a Kumasi derby.
This game it should be noted forms part of match day twenty-three fixtures of the Onetouch Premier League.
Kotoko’s 1-0 loss to Real Tamale United was the second since the league season started on December 2, 2007. The Porcupine Warriors first league defeat was against Ashantigold at the infamous Berekum Golden City Park. With seven matches remaining and Kotoko still leading the league table, Coach Bashir Hayford would want to avoid anymore losses as the season draws to an end. At the beginning of the season, Asante Kotoko vowed not to lose at home.
That strong resolve has been intact with the team winning ten matches and drawing just one home game against sworn rivals Accra Hearts of Oak. Naturally, King Faisal who drew 2-2 at home against Zaytuna on Wednesday would attempt to be more impressive and that would mean halting Kotoko’s unblemished home record. Alhaji Karim Grusah’s team without doubt, possesses the mental strength and energy to do that.
The reality however remains that it will take more than sheer determination for King Faisal to secure a win in Sunday’s encounter. In Tamale, the fabulous boys failed to claw back from a goal down to either win or draw as they have done in previous encounters in the league and Africa. That is not to say the team did not make any serious efforts at winning away. Playing with at a numerical disadvantage, the Porcupine Warriors fought like wounded lions to secure a face-saving draw particularly in the closing stages of the game but that proved abortive as the Tamale lads remained resolute in defence to keep the score line in their favour.
On that score, what Kotoko must do to overcome King Faisal this Sunday is to first put the loss to Real Tamale United behind them, strategise well and essentially build firmly on the performance exhibited in Tamale on Wednesday. Coach Bashir Hayford and his lieutenants have been on that task since the team’s return from the Northern Regional capital.
Prior to the game against R.T.U, the strength and compatibility of the team’s central defence came under critical scrutiny. Serious questions were asked especially after the encounters against Hearts of Oak and Liberty Professionals in Kumasi and Accra respectively but the situation seemed to have stabilised in the duel against the Pride of the North notwithstanding the 1-0 defeat.
Thus apart from ensuring that Kotoko’s attack functions with fluidity to score the needed goals, Coach Bashir Hayford must endeavour to put on display an impregnable defensive network that will successively put King Faisal’s attackers at bay throughout the game. King Faisal presently occupies the sixth position on the league table with 31 points. They were one of the three sides that drew with Kotoko in the first round fixtures.
That game ended goalless and was of course marred by Accra based Referee Charles Dowuona’s poor officiating. On Sunday, it is the hope of both Kotoko and King Faisal supporters that whoever handles the match will be fair and not kill their excitement or worse still destroy the beauty of the game.
Once again, Kotoko will be missing the services of striker Eric Bekoe and Harrison Afful. The two players are members of Black Stars team currently in South Africa preparing for the 2010 Africa-World Cup qualifier against Lesotho. That Kotoko can survive without Eric Bekoe and Harrison Afful is a point that cannot be disputed but in view of the strong notion held by some supporters that the absence of the two players would be felt greater than was expected, the challenge for the team now is to conquer King Faisal to dispel that impression.
Most Kotoko-King Faisal matches as matter of fact have ended in Kotoko’s favour. With a passionate and potentially massive attendance expected at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, King Faisal starts as underdogs. King Faisal’s underdog tag should however not deceive Kotoko since they could ride on that to cause an upset if underrated. Good luck to the fabulous boys!
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