Asante Kotoko will host their familiar rivals Accra Hearts of Oak at the Baba Yara sports stadium on Sunday, April 10, and their former captain Felix Annan has outlined what it takes to win matches of such magnitude.
The clash between the two biggest football clubs in Ghana is rated the biggest club football match in the country, and one of the biggest rivalry matches between football clubs across the African continent. The atmosphere at the stadium during such games become absolutely terrific, one which could cause inexperienced players to feel intimidated by the numerous crowd.
Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak have already faced off twice this season, one in the premier league and the other being ceremonial cup match, both played at the Accra sports stadium. The first, which was the league match ended goalless, but the Phobians rose to beat the Porcupine Warriors by 2-1 scoreline to win the 2022 President’s Cup.
Asante Kotoko have struggled to beat Accra Hearts of Oak under coach Samuel Boadu since he joined the Phobians in 2021, and would have to do something very extraordinary to win the triumph on Sunday. Former Goalkeeper and captain of Asante Kotoko has underscored what it takes to win such a tension packed match, and has advised the current Kotoko players accordingly.
“That match is all about character”, Annan stated in a interview with ghanasportspage.com.
“That match is all about who is more determined. It takes character to win such games, because normally such games are games for the fans. Even though it’s about three points at stake but such games are for the fans, so I urged the [Asante Kotoko] players that this time around they should strive to redeem themselves so that the fans will also be happy because, we lost in Accra so if we are able to win in Kumasi the fans will also be happy.
So they should strive to win because it takes character and determination to win that game”, he advised.
Accra Hearts of Oak are trailing the Asante Kotoko by 13 points on the league log, and losing all three points to the Porcupine Warriors who are currently leading the league log will mean the Phobians would have lost the race to defend their title with 10 matches to end the season.
