KOTOKO THUMP ARSENAL 3-0 (BACK PAGE)

KUMASI Asante Kotoko thumped Berekum Arsenal 3-0 at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi yesterday to revive their claim to the Glo Premier League championship.
The scoreline may look big but it was an afternoon of wasted opportunities for the Porcupine Warriors as they could have gone home with at least seven goals if the attack had been focused.
Kotoko’s striking pair of Alex Asamoah, who fetched a brace, and Louis Agyemang, who scored the other goal, missed glorious opportunities much to the chagrin of the few fans who watched the match.
The home side, who lost 1-2 at the same venue to Eleven Wise a week ago, was in the driving seat right from the start and forced Arsenal to commit errors at the back.
The first major chance fell to Jordan Opoku on 12 minutes, but finding himself in the area unchallenged he misdirected his shot.
After Stephen Oduro missed a similar opportunity on the 18th minute, Louis Agyemang put Kotoko ahead three minutes later.
Appearing so swift for the Arsenal back line, the Kotoko striker went on a brilliant run outpacing two defenders to lift the ball over advancing keeper Thomas Duah Asare.
Arsenals, who could hardly make a single serious attempt at goal, were lost in the middle and Stephen Oduro and Jordan Opoku danced around with the ball.
After 29 minutes, Kotoko registered their second goal with Samuel Inkoom as the architect. The brilliant defender in a typical run down the right displaced an opponent and flighted the ball for Alex Asamoah to connect with a half volley.
The stage looked set for a bumper harvest but Agyemang and Asamoah were disappointing in front of goal.
Arsenals brought on Frank Opoku for Halifax Afranie in a bid to tighten the defence but Kotoko who also replaced Oduro with Ofosu Amoah were the aggressors.
The status quo prevailed in the second half with Kotoko doing all the attacking but they had to wait until the 74th minute to increase the tally to three. Once again Alex Asamoah was the main man, rounding a defender and the keeper to coolly plant the ball in the net.