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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Olympics push Kotoko into crisis

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Accra Great Olympics piled on the misery of Kumasi Asante Kotoko with an emphatic 2-0 victory at the Accra Sports Stadium last Saturday.

It was a victory which lifted the gloom over the fortunes of the Wonder Club and completed an agonising week for the Porcupine Warriors in the nation’s capital, having lost 1-3 to Hearts of Oak in a  challenge cup match last Monday.

The win moved Olympics up the league log with an amazing record of 14 points from 14 games, as Kotoko’s winless run stretched to seven league games. The disappointing run has left their coach, Frimpong Manso, scratching his head in search of solutions as he has no idea the cause of their recent woes since their controversial 0-1 loss to Hearts in Accra on March 19.

Frimpong Manso, who was appointed last month as a replacement for Croatian  Zdravko Logarusic, told the media in a post-match interview that his measures to salvage the club were not working, yet and he could not fathom why the team kept performing below expectation.

“We don’t know what’s wrong with the team. We have tried to change things but it is still not working for us. It has been difficult so far and today we played badly again.

“Kotoko didn’t play well, Olympics were far better than us and they won; football is like that,” admitted the Kotoko coach.

“Lugarusic wasn’t conceding goals because of his system of play, he was playing about eight defenders in a game, he thought he didn’t have potent attack so he resorted to playing a defensive system.

“I am trying a new strategy, which could get us the goals but it will take time to get better.

“We have tried to psyche the players up, but it’s still not working and it’s been tough for us,” added Frimpong Manso

Paul Fiatsi’s stunning volley just outside the box early into the game set the Wonder Club on the road to a famous victory and attacker Francis Atsu’s deflective low drive in the 73rd minute sent the home fans into a state of ecstasy, but it was not bitter a pill for Kotoko’s chief executive, Dr Kwame Kyei to swallow as the business magnate left his seat and headed for the exit in disappointment.

The visitors’ hope of a comeback died seconds after Olympics conceded an own goal in the 87th as referee Awal Mohammed, who had initially signalled a perfect goal, rescinded his decision after Assistant Referee Kennedy Bentil held up his flag for an offside position by a Kotoko player.

Olympics dominated the exchanges and got rewarded in the 15th minute. A corner kick was floated into Kotoko’s goalmouth but deflected off the heads of David Agordame and Kwame Boateng who both contested the aerial ball. It landed on Fiatsi’s right foot as he unleashed a powerful volley which dazed goalkeeper Felix Annan.

In the 73rd minute, winger Adom Ampofo took the ball from his side and sent a cross to a lurking Atsu who controlled the ball beautifully on his chest and created space for himself before releasing a powerful drive that deflected off the legs defender Awudu Nafiu and left goalie Annan stranded in his posts.


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