Legon Cities continued with their decent form at home recently, holding Kumasi Asante Kotoko to a 1-1 deadlock in their betPawa Ghana Premier League (GPL) Match day 24 encounter played at the El-wak Sports Stadium yesterday.
A first half goal from skipper Richard Boadu and a second half strike by substitute Alex Aso ensured that both teams shared the spoils after a keenly contested encounter.
The home side was aiming to make it two home wins on the spin after shocking league leaders Aduana Stars 2-0 in their last home game but settled for a draw as they attempt to climb the relegation zone.
Kotoko on the other hand, went into the game hoping to bounce back from their defeat to Medeama in their last game to relaunch their title defence but failed to hold on to their lead.
On his first outing as interim coach, Abdul Gazale failed to live up to expectations as Coach Maxwell Konadu used his experience to deny the Porcupine Warriors a win.
The game started with Legon Cities showing great team work and splendid passing moves in an attempt to find an early goal.
However, it was the Porcupine Warriors who nearly drew first blood in the ninth minute but Mohammed Sherif’s shot went off
target.
Kofi Kordzi also came close to punishing the guests after the Sherif’s threat but was unable to find the right touches to give his side the lead.
Kotoko then took the game to their host and threatened the goal area with their efforts yielding results in the 18th minute as they were awarded a penalty for an obvious handball by a Legon Cities’ defender.
Richard Boadu stepped up and beautifully converted to give his side the deserved lead.
The game then settled with both teams sharing equal possession till recess.
Legon Cities came back strongly in the second half in an attempt to find an equaliser but Kotoko rather
created the first chance of the half in the 51st minute when George Mfegue’s strike missed the post by inches.
The host then made few changes with the introduction of Osman Amadu for Joseph Mireku while Alex Aso came to replace Kwabena Adu Meider.
The substitutions paid off as Aso brought some aggression to the Legon Cities front line and made instant impact with the equaliser in the 70th minute from a brilliant strike.
He became a thorn in the flesh of the Kotoko defence but was mostly dealt with by Mohammed Alhassan who had a brilliant game.
The last opportunity of the game however, fell for Richmond Lamptey in the dying minutes but failed to make it count to secure the three points for the visitors.
BY MICHAEL D.ABAYATEYE
