Asante Kotoko, Head Coach, Maxwell Konadu has cautioned that it’s early days to start heaping praises on his side despite amassing six points from their opening two games in the Ghana Premier League (GPL).
His comment comes on the back of his side’s sterling 3-1 comeback win on Friday over Legon Cities FC (Formerly Wa All Stars) in a charged atmosphere at the Accra Sports Stadium.
After a spirited start that witnessed the Royals grab an early lead through Greek- Ghanaian Panagiotis Papadopoulos to set up an interesting clash, Cities crushed to two second-half strikes from Emmanuel Gyamfi after his teammate Augustine Okrah leveled the score before the break.
The win made it two wins from two games for the Porcupine Warriors whiles their opponents boast just a point from a possible six.
Speaking at the post match conference, Konadu was wary about getting excited at the early prospects.
“It’s early days yet, we don’t have to create the impression that two matches, two wins and so we’re already unstoppable’ It’s a long season ahead and our plan is to take it one game at a time.
He was, however, elated that the game was an improvement upon their opening match against Eleven Wonders at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
“It was a huge leap in performance from the Wonders game. In that game we created a lot of chances but failed to utilize them, the difference today, however, was that we buried the chances we created.
Speaking on their difficult start to the game, Konadu indicated that it was expected, however, his charges heeded to his instructions to stick to the game plan which eventually paid off.
He described Cities as a talented team that gave his side a good test, adding that the result was a boost to their target of building a free-scoring side.
Konadu hinted that Kotoko was likely to make an addition to augment the team before the transfer deadline at the end of the month.
Konadu’s opposite number in charge of Cities, Bosnian -German tactician Goran Barjaktarevic attributed his side’s loss to injuries and a lack of concentration.
“Injury concerns before the start of the game was a setback for us. For instance we were unsure whether Isaac (Painstil) would be ready for the game, he was cleared in the final days and this was a challenge for us.
We also lacked concentration and didn’t make the best decisions in most situations. We will work hard to address these challenges.”
He expressed confidence in his young side, stating that it was a group of talented youngsters that needed time to blossom fully.
Asante Kotoko will next face Berekum Chelsea at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium whiles Cities trek to Dawu in search of their first win against Dreams FC.
BY NANA BENTSI ODURO
