Assistant Coach of Asante Kotoko Raphael Akakpo Patron has disclosed that Karela United FC gave them a tough match yesterday at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium during the Normalization Committee special competition tier one finals.
The Porcupine Warriors defeated the Anyinase based club 4-1 on penalty shout-outs after a 1:1 draw after 90 minutes of football action. This according to the Dupty Coach of Kotoko was not won on a silver platter.
Speaking in an interview on Happy FM’s Anopa Bosuo Sports with ‘Ohene Brenya Bampoe, Akakpo Patron said, “Karela FC is a very good side. We have seen what they have done in their campaign to the finals. They gave us a good game yesterday. The penalty we had was a clear penalty although others think otherwise.”
He added that, despite the challenges they were facing during the match they were optimistic of winning of the competition from the onset. “We were very optimistic from the beginning of the competition although it wasn’t a smooth road because we’ve met stronger opponents in tier One. Rotating new players was a bit difficult when we lost some key players to injury but they’ve done well . I can’t single out one new player who was outstanding because it is team work and all of them were marvelous.”
Asante Kotoko will represent Ghana in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League next season following their triumph in the NC spacial competition.
Last season, Coach C.K Akonnor and Akakpo Patron led the same team to the group stages of the CAF Confederation Cup.
By: Ayishatu Zakaria Ali