BELOW PAR KOTOKO BEAT ARSENAL (BACK PAGE)

IT WAS a below par performance from two of the current top four sides in the country but three goals from Kumasi Asante Kotoko without reply were enough to silence Berekum Arsenal and whet the appetite of the fans at the Baba Yara Stadium.
Ofosu Amoah, Kojo Poku and Eric Bekoe all got on the score sheet as Kotoko jumped to the top of the Glo Top Four competition.
Perhaps, saving their legs for this week's CAF Confederation Cup game against El-Merrikh in Kumasi, Kotoko appeared relaxed for a greater part of the game but their opponents were even more disappointing.
Arsenal, trying to extricate themselves from the initial threats, engineered some terrific moves from the middle with Emmanuel Agyemang Badu and Frank Yeboah as the combined driving force.
As the game wore on, Arsenal looked faster, winning the ball with ease but cutting through the Kotoko back line where former Heart of Lions defender Ofosu Appiah was a pillar, was always a big task.
Kotoko, however, broke the deadlock two minutes to end the half with a goal that drew fierce protest from Arsenal who claimed Ofosu Amoah used his hand to propel home in a stormy goalmouth action.
Just a minute from restart, Kotoko doubled the score, taking advantage of a counter-attack, which saw Kojo Poku running 40 metres with the ball to whisk it past keeper Ishahaku Shaibu.
Godfred Yeboah of Kotoko and Agyemang Badu of Arsenal were booked for various infringements as the game became rough.
Kotoko assistant coach, Johnson Smith, who was in charge, brought on Bekoe and Inkoom for Ofosu Amoah and Godfred Yeboah respectively but Kotoko struggled through to keep up the tempo.
Bekoe showed how not to score when standing unchallenged before an empty net, he only shot against the post in the 77th minute. But the leading striker atoned for the miss, scoring beautifully with a free kick from some 30 yards.