Ittihad won’t survive- Nii Baah

By: Bernard Nyankomago Yeboah

The Baba Yara Sports Stadium looks set to explode with soccer thrills this Sunday when the Porcupine Warriors lock horns with Al Ittihad of Libya in a gruelling second leg match of the CAF Confederations Cup.

With only a few days to the kick off of the match that both teams hold so dear to their fortunes, Kotoko has intensified their preparations and if it is anything to rely on, then the Libyans will certainly have a hard nut to crack in Kumasi.

Drawing inspiration from last Sunday’s coronation match against King Faisal and the anticipated milling crowd, the players will have no excuse than to bring victory to Asanteman and also ensure qualification to the group stage of the competition.

Though it looks obvious that Kotoko stands a better chance of qualifying considering their unbeaten home record, goalkeeper Nii Baah in an interview with Kotoko Express, has charged his teammates not to be swollen headed about that and do everything possible to ensure that Kotoko crush their opponents to reach the next stage.

“It is a fact that we played well and scored an away goal to our credit in Tripoli. But in as much as football remains unpredictable, we must do away with complacency and rather stay focused for the match ahead because it is the ultimate”.

Having tasted many international matches for both Kotoko and the national under twenty-one side, the Black Meteors, he acknowledged the fact that success will not be achieved on a sliver platter looking at the hype and tension surrounding the match. However, he is hopeful that at the end of hostilities on Sunday, victory will swing their way.

Nii Baah who says he was not impressed with the attendance of Kotoko supporters in the coronation match against King Faisal however believes the task will be easier provided they get massive support from the entire nation.

In this regard, he has called on all soccer fans in the country to throng the stadium in their numbers to fill every sitting space available. According to him, if by singing and incessant noise the walls of Jericho crashed down, then through the same means Ittihad will also be crushed mercilessly on Sunday.

“This is the time for all Ghanaians to show their love to us. In fact we need to see them in the fabulous colours everywhere in the stadium singing and chanting till we achieve success as was done when we played Dolphins some months ago. If they do so, I bet you, we will seal the deal in the first half” he assured.

Asked why he was so sure about victory, the experienced goalie replied that aside the high level of commitment shown by players in the team, the technical bench has also done enough as far as preparation is concerned.

These coupled with the morale in camp has reposed some confidence in him that Kotoko will be cruising to the final whistle as victors.

In his response to whether the absence of Osei Kuffour and Samuel Inkoom will affect the team, Nii Baah quickly said “We will definitely miss them on the field of play because he is our inspirational skipper. But Kotoko is not built around individual players so I expect any player who will replace him, to do the job” he concluded.