Medeama SC momentarily moved to the summit of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) when they rallied from behind to beat Asante Kotoko 2-1 at the Obuasi Len Clay Stadium in a frenetic affair characterized by near-misses.
Kotoko set the tone for a third successive win at their newly adopted homegrounds when they seized an early lead through winger Emmanuel Gyamfi in the 12th minute but a spirited comeback from the visitors led to a leveler from returnee marksman Prince Opoku Agyemang in the 30th minute before midfielder Richard Boadu grabbed the winner with seconds to end the first-half.
After an early possession where they tried to exploit Medeama through the wings, the homeside got successful when diminutive winger Emmanuel Gyamfi, nodded home an inswinger from Ibrahim Imoro after he was left unmarked in the visitors’ goal area.
The goal served as a rude awakening for the ‘Mauve and Yellows’ as they quickly reorganized and constructed their game to create scoring chances – which forced two brilliant saves from Kotoko’s goalie Razak Abalora.
The visitors’ persistence paid off when Captain Tetteh Zutah delivered a pass to Agyemang that sharply cut through the Kotoko defensive pair of Yusif Mubarik and Ismail Ganiu. The striker who had picked his spot to stay onside read the position of Abalora before slotting his shot beyond his reach.
The goal boosted Medeama’s confidence as they hunted for the lead, which materialized with seconds left before recess.
Boadu’s long-drive took a wild deflection off Kotoko defender Habib Mohammed before bouncing beyond the reach of Abalora who clumsily attempted to keep it out.
Back from recess, Medeama kept a compact shape that frustrated Kotoko’s effort at an equalizer. Despite this, both sides had near-misses that proved more costly for the ‘Porcupine Warriors’.
BY NANA BENTSI ODURO
