Asante Kotoko marked their return to the BabaYara Stadium with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Bechem United in their Ghana Premier league(GPL) match week two game.
An expertly converted penalty by Captain Abdul Ganiu in the 87th minute and a brilliant header from midfielder Samuel Boateng in stoppage time paid-off a late surge for the home side akin to their 3-1 victory against Dreams, which was won in similar fashion.
Once-again, it was the introduction of young prodigy, Isaac Oppong that made the difference for Kotoko.
Struggling to breakdown the backline of the watertight Bechem defense, KotokoCoach, Dr Prosper Ogum introduced the magical Oppong and Richard Boadu just as he did against Dreams; and for a second time, that won the day for Kotoko.
Oppong did not take long to announce his presence, instantly becoming a mouthful for the visitors’defense who had kept the Kotoko attackers in check for the most part of the game.
But after a breakdown of a Bechem passing move that placed right-back Christopher Nettey in an attacking position,Kotoko’s fortune changed.
Nettey located Oppong with a delicate pass inside the visitors’box, the Bechemdefence could not help but hack him down. The infringement won Kotoko a spot-kick.
Abdul Ganiu then stepped up with six minutes on the clock to calmly plant home, giving the nervous Kotoko fans a sigh of relief.
Just when it was obvious Kotoko were headed for a lone goal victory,Oppong again stepped up and was involved in a move that saw Samuel Oppong increase the tally through a header in added time.
In both halves, the visitors created good goal scoring chances despite Kotoko’s dominance and incessant attacking threats.
The worst culprit was former Kotoko playmaker Augustine Okrah who wasted most of the chances that fell to the ‘Hunters’.
BY NANA BENTSI ODURO
