Sports
Kotoko dare not fail against Medeama
Kumasi Asante Kotoko’s quest to maintain the top spot will face a huge test today when they face Medeama SC in their crunch Week 21 fixture of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) at the Len Clay Sports Stadium.
The Porcupine Warriors would be hoping to bounce back to winning ways after earning a point against Accra Great Olympics in their last encounter, to consolidate their lead on the table.
With just two points separating the two sides, coupled with the pressure from others in the top five including Hearts of Oak and Great Olympics, Kotoko cannot afford to drop points in today’s encounter, considering its impact on their title ambitions.
What could work for the Porcupine Warriors, however, would be their newly found rhythm under Coach Mariano Barreto who seems to be building a solid team to face such challenges.
The Portuguese and former Black Stars coach has managed to pick seven points from his first three games and looks forward to another win today.
Gladly, Kotoko would welcome the return of the Brazilian playmaker, Fabio Gama who missed the game against Olympics for card accumulation and would be expected create the chances for his countryman Michael Vinicius Silva da Morais and Emmanuel Gyamfi to score.
Medeama would, however, lament the absence of their key midfielder, Justice Blay who suffered a season-ending injury in their game against Legon Cities.
That, notwithstanding, Medeama is still formidable with the likes of Kwesi Donsu, Prince Opoku Agyeman, Ahmed Toure, Rashid Nortey, Vincent Atinga and Zakaria Mumuni in the squad to be paraded by Yaw Preko.
Medeama had the edge over Kotoko with a 1-0 win at home in the first round in January and knowing the possibility of dislodging Kotoko at the apex, the Mauve and Yellows would go all out to upset the Porcupines.
Another encounter that could shake the top four positions would be at the Cosby Awuah Memorial Park where Karela host Hearts tomorrow.
Third-placed Hearts would be away to fifth-placed Karela who are desperate to return to the summit.
Hearts could also move on top of the table with a win, depending on results from their rival’s Kotoko and Olympics encounters – an opportunity they would grab with both hands.
Their first round encounter also ended in a goalless draw and both sides would be looking forward to walking away with the three points.
Title contenders Olympics would square off with Ebusua Dwarfs at Cape Coast in search for win in three games.
Olympics have enjoyed an incredible run so far and occupied the top spot in the process but unable to find wins in their last two games, losing to Legon Cities and sharing the spoils with Kotoko.
The Dade Boys would fancy a win against Dwarfs to put their top four and possibly their title race back on track.
Elsewhere, Liberty Professionals would go all out for the three points to move above the relegation zone when they host Berekum Chelsea at Dansoman in another cagey encounter.
AshantiGold would host Bechem United at the Len Clay Stadium tomorrow while the Red Bull Arena at Sogakope would host WAFA and Eleven Wonders in another mouthwatering encounter.
Legon Cities would hope to avoid a second defeat in a row when they face Dreams FC at the Accra Sports Stadium in another tough fixture.
At the Nana Agyemang Badu Park at Dormaa, Aduana Stars would clash with Elmina Sharks while Inter Allies face off with King Faisal at Dawu.
BY MICHAEL D.ABAYATEYE
Otto Addo is taking a calm and focused approach to the World Cup after being drawn against England, Panama, and Croatia in Group L.
“I look forward to every game as special,” he told ghanafa.org.
“Very important for us that we don’t underrate any team. For sure, England is the favourite in that group,” he acknowledged. “But for me as a coach, to be honest, I’m looking at each and every game equally.”
Addo is particularly focused on getting a strong start against Panama. “I’m hoping that we have a good start against Panama, that will be very, very crucial,” he said. “It will make the other games a little bit more relaxed and easier for the players psychologically. We will use the window of March for test matches, and then see,” he said.
Despite being a young team, Addo is proud of his squad’s progress. “I think we did very well in the qualifiers ” he said. “We didn’t lose a single official game, like the qualifying games, we did very well. We just played one draw and the rest we won, so we had quite a good year in 2025, after a bad year in 2024’’.
“Even though we have a very young team, we really, really did well, had a good harmony in the team, good union,” he added.
Ghana will open their FIFA World Cup campaign against Panama in Toronto on June 17 before facing England and Croatia in the other Group L matches on June 23 and 27 respectively.
The unbeaten away run of Accra Hearts of Oak will be put to the test tomorrow when they visit the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale to play as guests of Karela United. Described as one of the top-liners of the weekend games, the match will pitch one of the best home teams against the best away team, with their records on the line.
After playing a pulsating 2-2 draw with Kumasi Asante Kotoko last week, league leaders Medeama SC return to their fortress, the TnA Stadium, to welcome Berekum Chelsea FC in a clash of former league winners. Medeama have struggled in recent times to hold their own against the ‘Bibires’, losing their last four games both home and away.
However, according to Head Coach of Medeama, Tanko Ibrahim, that sequence of results will come to an end tomorrow as they look to crawl out of the claws of their opponents with victory. Eleven points separate the sides, with Berekum Chelsea lying a distant 14th position on the log. They have been a pale shadow of themselves this season, and it remains to be seen if Coach Samuel Boadu’s side can keep the bragging rights over the Yellow and Mauves in what has been described as one of their worse starts to a league season.
Today, second-placed Kpando Heart of Lions will trek to the Kwame Kyei Sports Complex in Abrankese to play as guests of struggling Nations FC. Having suffered a 1-0 away loss to Basake Holy Stars in their last game, Nations FC would look to pick all three points to better their current 12th position.
In other games, the Hohoe Sports Stadium will come alive as new boys Hohoe United FC welcome Kumasi Asante Kotoko. The Nii Adjei Kraku II Sports Complex in Tema will host the Vision FC versus Young Apostles FC game, the Tuba Astro Turf will host the Dreams FC versus Bechem United FC clash, while the Nsenkyire Sports Arena will host the Samartex FC versus Bibiani Gold Stars game. High-riding Aduana FC will sort things out with Basake Holy Stars at the Nana Agyeman Badu I Park in Dormaa.
By Raymond Ackumey
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