Ashantigold CEO has revealed that his club are ready for the next African Campaign after the Ghana FA confirmed Ashantigold will represent Ghana in next season’s CAF Confederation Cup.

The cancelation of the 2019/2020 Ghana Premier League season means last season’s representatives will have another chance in Africa.

Ashantigol’s CEO Emmanuel Frimpong says the club is almost ready for next season’s campaign and will be ready when the time comes.

“We are 85 percent ready for Africa next season. We will be making new signings to strengthen our squad next season and hopefully, we will go and make Ghana proud”, he said in an interview.

AshantiGold SC made it to the first round of the CAF Confederation Cup qualifiers and were eliminated from the competition by Moroccan side RS Berkane.

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Ashantigold registered a narrow 1-0 win against Division One side Asokwa Deportivo on Saturday morning.

A first-half goal from Marco Silva was the only difference as Ashantigold continue their preparations for their crucial CAF Confederation Cup game second leg against RS Berkane.

AshantiGold needs a draw or avoid defeat in Morocco to progress after their 3-2 win in the first leg at Obuasi.

The Miners will resume training on Monday morning.

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Speaking before the game, Felix Annan revealed that they are aware of the pressure on them and are hoping to turn it to positives.

“Pressure is bound to happen in everything you do. We know the fans expectation of us is very high. It’s normal to feel pressure from the fans but we don’t have to play under pressure,” he told Graphic Sports.

“We will deal with it as it is and turn it into a positive outcome. What we have to do as a team is to absorb the pressure and react in a positive manner. The pressure should rather be a motivation for us to deliver and we are very confident that we are going to win,” he added.

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CAF threatened to ban the Baba Yara stadium a few days ago because of the poor state of the pitch, but groundkeepers at the stadium have put in enough work to make sure the pitch is in good condition ahead of the game on Wednesday.

Management of Asante Kotoko calls for calm, support ahead of Zesco United clash

Managing Director of Green Grass Technology, Frank Boahene revealed that he was directed to work on the pitch.

“I was told by the Sports Minister (Hon.Asiamah) to come and work on the Baba Yara pitch last week and we’ve been working on it since last Thursday,” Boahene told the media a week ago.

Asante Kotoko will face Zesco United as they will look to return to winning ways after a disappointing performance in Sudan against Al-Hilal.

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The game was originally scheduled to kick off at 1 pm on Wednesday, but according to a representative from the club Nana Kwame Dankwah, CAF have granted Kotoko permission to change the kick-off time from 1 pm to 4 pm.

Management of Asante Kotoko calls for calm, support ahead of Zesco United clash

“We wrote to CAF concerning the time of our match against ZESCO and thanks be to God they have accepted our proposal.

“The game is now officially scheduled to kickoff at 4 pm. Hopefully, an official statement will be released by CAF tomorrow,”

Asante Kotoko will look to return winning ways against Zesco United after losing to Al Hilal in their first game.

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According to a press release from the Communications Directorate, the management believes the Porcupines can return to winning ways against Zesco United after the defeat to Al Hilal.

Management thinks the task is a shared responsibility, and is, therefore, calling on the supporters to troop to the Baba Yara Stadium in their numbers to cheer the players on.

“Management will like to call on our supporters to remain calm and in support of the club despite our loss to Al Hilal in the opening fixture of the CAF Confederation Cup Group C,” says the statement.

“As Management of the club, we do acknowledge the disappointment that the result brought to our rank and file, and the fact that some have been left disillusioned in our chances of making it out of the group.”

“We, however, will want to state that our aim of qualifying out of the group and the chances to that regard are still intact despite the result we had at the Al Hilal Stadium in Sudan last Sunday.”

“We play our first home game of the group stage against Zambian side Zesco United on Wednesday, February 13, 2019, and will urge our supporters show up in their numbers to support the team to victory.”

“We still have a good chance to make amends in the competition after the poor result last week, and that opportunity starts on Wednesday with our first home game of the competition at the Baba Yara Stadium.”

“It is our wish that we all see it as our responsibility and throng the stadium to do our part of the bargain by supporting the players and the technical team to win the game,” concludes the statement.

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Al Hilal came out winners in their first group game against Kotoko thanks to a scruffy goal from Waleed.

Asante Kotoko have faced enormous criticism and doubts after the game but Agyeman is seeking support from the fans and promised that the team will continue to fight.

“The goals we concede worry us a lot. I think it’s lack of concentration on the part of us but we’ll continue to fight in our subsequent games,” Badu told reporters upon arrival at the Kotoko International Airport.

“We know we’ve disappointed our fans but I will urge them to keep supporting the team so that we can achieve our target in the group.”

Asante Kotoko will face Zesco United on February 13th as they will look to make amends for their first defeat.

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Asante Kotoko suffered a narrow defeat against Al Hilal in Ombdurman, making it their first defeat in their African campaign.

CK Akonnor said in the post-match conference that he wasn’t satisfied with the way his team played in the first half but was a little bit happy with their reaction in the second half.

Four things we learned as Asante Kotoko suffer defeat in Sudan

“I was not too satisfied with the way we played in the first half, we didn’t keep the ball well and it was a big problem for us, but the second half was okay”

“I just want to concentrate on the second half, in the second half, we were able to express ourselves well. Our idea was to soak them and attack but we were not able to keep the ball well, the performance in the first half was not good”

“In the second half, we created a lot of chances but we have to work on it (conversion), we have to improve in that area. In our previous matches we have been able to score goals but today we were unlucky”

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Asante Kotoko have managed to grind out away results during the playoffs; they managed to shut down Kariobangi Sharks in Kenya and surprised Coton Sports in Cameroon, but luck wasn’t on their side on Sunday as they suffered a narrow defeat against Al Hilal.

Waleed Hamid’s goal was the difference at Ombdurman on Sunday, confusion at the Kotoko defence enabled the 20-year-old to connect with a headed pass to put his side in front.

Asante Kotoko came close to equalize when Abdul Fatawu’s shot hit the bar in the early stages of the second half. Kotoko ran out of ideas in the remaining minutes of the game as they struggled to string passes in the final third.

CK Akonnor and his boys will have to work very hard if they want to salvage anything from the group stage.

Asante Kotoko suffer defeat in Sudan

Asante Kotoko lacked Creativity

CK Akonnor tried to emulate the style he used in Kenya against Kariobangi Sharks in the playoffs, a style where the midfielders will drop back to help the defence. It was very clear that Kotoko were being cautious, their style of play was to stop Al Hilal from scoring and this would have panned out if the defence didn’t fall asleep in the incident that led to a goal.

Apart from the attempt that hit the bar, Fatawu didn’t create real chances in the final third. He struggled to connect with Sogne Yacouba who was left isolated up front. Fatawu dropped deep to the center midfield while Bonsu and Senanu dropped deeper to shield the defensive line. Their main focus was to make sure they try to stop Al Hilal from scoring.

If they really want to start getting results, they need to start creating chances that will lead to goals instead of defending and hoping for the best.

Sogne Yacouba was left Isolated

A lot of people have been criticizing Sogne Yacouba because he has struggled to find the back of the net since he returned from injury. What many don’t understand is that he is a very talented player but can’t perform fully without the help of his teammates.

Against Al Hilal, Sogne Yacouba dropped back to collect passes from the midfield before attempting to move the ball forward on several occasions. He had to settle for long-range shots because his teammates were not positioning themselves for passes up front.

Baakoh and Gyamfi also dropped deep and made it look a defensive 4-5-1 formation, they lacked connection and communication. Baakoh made several fruitless runs down the right wing, Gyamfi was roaming aimlessly in the game. None of these two wingers managed to create anything tangible with Sogne Yacouba in the final third, and this is something CK Akonnor should look into.

Kotoko Defenders should emulate Amos Frimpong

Amos Frimpong was Kotoko’s best player against Al Hilal, a real captain performance was seen at the Al Hilal Stadium. Frimpong took charge of the right back, he even tried to make attacking runs down the right when Gyamfi was out of position.

The bold captain did his defensive duties and made sure no mistakes were made from his section. He tried to encourage the team with his claps and shouting after they found themselves behind.

If only the entire defence had the same passion, they would have shut out the Al Hilal attack and snuffed out every goal threat.

Asante Kotoko are in dire need of a playmaker

For games like this where everyone is expected to work towards stopping the opponents from scoring, I think Asante Kotoko will do even better if they have a playmaker that can create chances whenever they have the ball or are on a counter attack.

Kotoko often looked lost whenever they attempt to move the ball into the final third, they end up settling for unproductive back passes.

The porcupines need someone who can pick out teammates that can run with the ball and cause harm to the opponent, a player that can move into spaces and set up decisive passes. If they can get someone with this attribute, I think they will be able to create a connection in the final third.

Senanu and Frimpong’s performance are the positives in the game and I am sure that CK Akonnor will be pleased with their output.

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The porcupines had a night to forget as they fell short in Sudan.

Al Hilal scored in the 4oth minute through Waleed Bakhiek Hamid who connected with a headed pass from Nasr El Din Shigel to put his team in front.

Kotoko almost equalized when Abdul Fatawu Safiu’s shot hit the bar in the first few minutes of the second half.

Kotoko couldn’t break the Al Hilal defence despite their ball possession in the second half.

Elsewhere, Zesco United claimed a deserved 2-0 victory over Nkana FC in the other group match on Sunday.

Asante Kotoko will host Zesco next Sunday at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi as they will look to grab their first points in the competition.

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