KUMASI Asante Kotoko posted a 2-0 victory over Bechem Chelsea in an outstanding Glo Premier League match at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi yesterday to bring some smiles onto the faces of their long suffering supporters.
Despite the victory, the total output of the home team was not convincing enough against their opponents whose performance was mediocre .
After a thrilling opening exchanges controlled by Kotoko, the Porcupine Warriors could not extend the tempo into the second half, appearing raw in their delivery.
However, it was a huge relief for Kotoko coach, Paa Kwesi Fabin, as he prepares the team for next Sunday’s CAF Champions League match in Accra against ASC Linguere of Senegal.
The game was just a minute old when Baffour Gyan struck the bar in an explosive action in the Chelsea area.
It appears the visiting team were in for trouble and their defence caved in on three minutes when Edward Affum rifled in with a half volley.
Chelsea had difficulty in threading their passes through and they were penned in for long periods as Kotoko charged on the high tempo.
At this point, the task was to prevent Kotoko from getting another goal and Lee Addy, Alfred Arthur, Eric Agyemang and Paul Aidoo worked extra hard to contain the onslaught.
But when a misunderstanding occurred between Ofosu Appiah and keeper Isaac Amoako, Chelsea failed to take advantage as the strong defender recovered to save the situation.
With Kotoko continuing to press for another goal, goalkeeper Maxwell Owusu Banahene pulled some great saves to keep the deficit within manageable proportions.
Having survived the scare, Chelsea attempted to open up but the action remained in the middle with Kotoko surviving the few moves into their area.
Gradually the pace and variety of Kotoko’s young midfielder, Frank Boateng begun to tell positively on the their game as the lanky player worked his way into the Chelsea area with ease.
He crowned a brilliant afternoon with a great goal, driving the ball past four opponents to rifle it past Osei Banahene.
Kotoko fans celebrated the goal in the stands and called for more action from the team, but Affum failed to score a personal second when after slipping into the path of a Baffour Gyan pass, he delayed for defender to clear.
Ofosu Appiah, who was injured in the second half, conceded unnecessary corner kicks but the Chelsea team could not take advantage.
The restart saw Chelsea not ready to allow Kotoko to get into their strides, clipping Kotoko from the flanks but the difficulty to test Isaac Amoako was always there.
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