FA Cup: Win against Ashgold will calm nerves

If there’s one game whose result could briefly repair the gradually wearing confidence most Kotoko supporters have in Coach David Duncan and the team, it’s Wednesday’s MTN FA Cup quarter final clash against Ashgold at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.

Three discomfiting losses in the league, out of which Kotoko have scored six goals and conceded 10; have ruffled nerves with many fans criticizing the team for poor form. But in Wednesday's fierce encounter, the gloominess that has clothed the supporters’ hearts could dissipate easily if Coach Duncan and his team apply the brakes on the impressive Ashgold.

As a knockout game, Kotoko have no way dreaming of an FA Cup progress if they don’t win. That firmly explains why Kotoko must win at all cost. In the league, Ashgold have assumed the top position of the table from match day one. They now have taken what pundits are accepting as an unassailable lead. But that’s in the league, where indeed, they beat Kotoko 2-1 at Obuasi.

There can be no better means of signaling to Ashgold that, defeat awaits them in the return league fixture apart from dumping them out of the FA Cup. Victory for Kotoko will also end Coach Bashir Hayford and his team’s double dream. How Kotoko motivate themselves to brutally fight Ashgold and win remains Coach Duncan’s biggest task.

Beating Ashgold is not beyond Coach Duncan and his team. There is hope that, Kotoko will be victorious given the kind of resilience they exhibited when they engaged Great Olympics in Accra and won 3-2 last Wednesday. Kotoko’s determination to shut Great Olympics’ quest of winning that particular game was authenticated by their fight for a third goal after the home team equalized.

Thus, the 3-2 win offers a pillar based on which Kotoko fans can hang their hope, that, Ashgold will not survive. That hope notwithstanding, Kotoko must be careful of careless mistakes especially in defence since the confident Ashgold team could be deadly if gifted with cheap scoring opportunities.

The stakes are very high. Ashgold come into the game confidently. Kotoko must shirk any bad feeling resulting from the defeat to Liberty Professionals in Accra to redeem themselves in the knockout competition. The Porcupines can do it. They must ignore any condemnation from their angry fans and go all out to fight for triumph. A win certainly will calm nerves.

Accra mission not exactly fulfilled

Amed Toure scored Kotoko's only goal at Dansoman.

I had anticipated six out of six. In the worst case scenario, I felt it could be four out of six.

But it turned out to be three out of six points as Liberty Professionals handed Asante Kotoko their third defeat in the second round of the 2014/15 First Capital Plus Premier League.

 Sunday’s loss marked the Porcupines’ second 3-1 away defeat since the second half of the season opened. Kotoko stormed Accra last Tuesday hopeful of winning their two league matches – first against Great Olympics at the Accra Sports Stadium and afterwards, Liberty Professionals at the Carl Reindorf Park, Dansoman.

I wrote in a preview of the two games last Tuesday that, Kotoko could earn all six points at stake in the Accra mission or at worst, they could bag four points. I had expected at least a drawn game at Dansoman.

Following proceedings of the Liberty encounter from my cold room at Waterkloof Ridge, Pretoria, South Africa; I was delighted to see the live Twitter update, which reported that, Amed Toure shot Kotoko in the lead as early as the 8th minute. That was impressive.

Knowing Liberty Professionals and how organised they are particularly at Dansoman, where they haven’t lost in the last six matches, I prayed that, Kotoko either doubled their slim lead or held on to it tightly. That appeared to be a task quite difficult to execute as the fabulous lads lost ground 13 minutes later with Liberty equalizing after a defensive mix-up.

It’s heartbreaking that Kotoko have lost three of four matches since the second round of the league started. It’s even disappointing that, as defending champions, Kotoko are progressively losing their grip of the title. Ashgold, I admit, are increasingly fortifying their resolve to win the title.

Ashgold have 37 points. That’s 12 more than what Kotoko have. In purely football sense, it’s isn’t out of place to suggest that, Kotoko can catch-up and dream of overthrowing Ashgold. However, the reality is that, Kotoko will not be able to cut down Ashgold’s sovereign lead if those poor results don’t stop.

I’m an optimist. I haven’t lost hope. I’m of the conviction that, Kotoko will soon come within the top four rank but the team must buck-up. I can’t say much about the match against Olympics and Liberty because I wasn’t at the venues.

I however commend Kotoko’s fighting spirit in the Olympics game, which ensured their 3-2 win but I’m frightened by the ease with which the team concedes goals. Conceding 10 goals and scoring six in four matches speaks badly of the strength of the team defensively. The reported miscommunication between goalie, Ofori Antwi and Eric Donkor which offered Liberty the opportunity to equalize is inexcusable.

It is shocking that Kotoko have conceded 10 goals in four matches. The ball is directly in Coach David Duncan’s court. He must halt the leakage. Coach Duncan has the inevitable duty of applying the right medicine to stop the hemorrhage.

On Wednesday, June 24, Kotoko will play Ashgold in the quarter final of the FA Cup in Kumasi. The next league game is also at home to Bechem United on Sunday, June 28. I won’t dwell on the FA Cup match. I have adequately written on that in another article. I will stay on Kotoko’s league form and encourage the team to beat Bechem United, who are a point richer than Kotoko on the league table.

Bechem United was the team, Coach David Duncan first beat in the league when he was appointed in March. If every team is winning at home, Kotoko must also win at home. After Kotoko trounced Lions 4-0 in the first round in Kumasi; the Kpando team, learnt their lessons to thrash Kotoko 3-1 at home. Every team takes advantage of its home grounds. Kotoko must do that too!

Kotoko proved stronger than Olympics in Accra and Liberty demonstrated that, they are supreme at Dansoman. Kotoko have no business dropping guard against Bechem United.

The awful experience of losing in Kumasi must not repeat itself against Bechem on Sunday.

Patience, please, patience!

Cheerful Kotoko fans at the stadium.

I know it’s difficult. Very difficult! But it’s the way to go. Another defeat in our basket. This time 2-1 at home to Edubiase. The other time, it was 3-1 away to Heart of Lions. In purely football sense, defeats are normal but at Kotoko it’s not always the case. Defeats can cause so many problems at Kotoko and they’re far too obvious and many to list.

This is a club that has very high standards. Everything may not be right with or at Kotoko but the supporters’ never-ending demand for victory can hardly be faulted. It’s difficult to accept or understand that “thing” about Kotoko supporters that makes them averse to defeats. Yet the reality is that, Kotoko supporters hate to see their team lose.

I’m one of them. I don’t love to see Kotoko lose but I love to react to Kotoko defeats differently. That explains why I’m calling for patience. Why I’m urging fans not to give up on the team. Don’t give up today or tomorrow. Don’t give up because the team isn’t performing well. Don’t give up because the team isn’t winning. Just don’t give up because the team is losing.

I’m not saying supporters should rejoice at defeats. I’m only saying that, regardless of the disappointment, we still have to support the team. The pain supporters are experiencing as a result of the continuous non-performance is understandable we need not give up on the team.

Truth be told, I was surprised to see Kotoko lose to Edubiase at home. My reaction stemmed from the thought that, given how frail the Porcupines were in Kumasi in the first round, their resolution that, a different story will be told in the second round was easy to believe.

I recall an interview with Coach David Duncan at their camp in Tema, where he termed Kotoko’s losses at home as an “abnormality”. The coach agreed that, it wasn’t something to be entertained. It didn’t have to happen, said the Kotoko coach. It wasn’t as if Coach Duncan didn’t know there could be home defeats; he understood the fact that, Kotoko losing in Kumasi wasn’t right.

His resolve was to change things. “It is not a question of seeking to. We don’t have a choice. I won’t be seeking to change something that’s good. It’s bad. Definitely, we would like to change that trend at home.  That is exactly what we will do” he said.

Duncan continued: “Under normal circumstances, Kotoko is supposed to be picking points – even away. So if at the place where you must be guaranteed your three points, you don’t get them, I consider that an abnormality. It’s absurd! It didn’t have to happen in the first place” he added.

“We definitely would have to just ensure that, we turn that kind of situation around” Duncan concluded in an answer to my question on the team’s performance at home. Clearly, the first attempt by Coach Duncan to walk the talk of winning at home has hit a rough patch. It doesn’t mean subsequent attempts will also follow that, so let’s not give on him or the team.

Things will change. That’s why I’m suggesting that, we don’t give up. I don’t want to be in the shoes of Duncan. Neither would I want to be in the seat of management nor that of the players. These are difficult times for them. The best we can do as supporters is to rally behind them. They have sworn to positively turn things around immediately.

Giving up on them amounts to losing hope. We need not do that. Our reaction to defeats must change. We can criticize. It’s fair to do that but not resort to physical assaults. It can’t be that, in expressing our disappointment; or in venting our spleen as they say, we resort to violence and indeed assault the very people from who we are demanding better performance.

Let’s exercise restraint. Let’s stay calm. Let’s be patient. Let’s demand the best from Coach and the players but in doing that, let’s show civility and believe that, very soon, things will change. I rest my case. Patience is needed here. It’s necessary at all times; in or outside football.