Ex-Asante Kotoko midfielder Stephen Oduro has advised the current squad on how to succeed against Accra Hearts of Oak at the Kumasi Sports Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Ghana Premier League’s biggest match kicks off this afternoon at the Kumasi Sports Stadium between Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak. Both teams are determined to win, not just for the three points at stake, but also to satisfy their numerous fans and secure bragging rights.
In an exclusive interview with ghanasportspage.com, Stephen Oduro, who played and scored several times during his tenure with Asante Kotoko, rated the match as the most important for both clubs and their supporters. He urged the Kotoko players not to become overconfident due to their current form but to be mindful of history, which shows that form often counts for little in this fixture.
Oduro emphasized that the players should take the match very seriously but remain calm and play their normal game. “As a former player of Asante Kotoko, the little advice I can give to the players [of Kotoko] is that, that game is a game that you as a player must take it as a match of your life. Whether the supporters will accept you, praise you or hail you depends on that match, that is the match they cherish the most,” Oduro stated.
“So I will advise every player to take the match seriously and win it for the supporters, because if they win it for the supporters it brings a lot of things to the team; traders, hawkers. So I will urge them to take this match more seriously than all the previous matches they’ve played. It is true they have beaten a lot of teams but when it comes to Accra Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko, it is different; that match can kill your career as a player, so they should take the match very seriously,” he added.
The former RTU midfielder, however, cautioned the players not to be too ambitious on the field. He urged them to stay calm and play their normal game but with all seriousness in mind.
“Though when they go into the game they should take it as a normal match, but playing it we don’t play it like how you play with other teams [in the league]. They should take it that Hearts of Oak is coming with eleven players, same as them, and I think for now in terms of player to player, Asante Kotoko has a [stronger] team than Hearts, but for Kotoko and Hearts game, who has a good form does not count,” he said.
Stephen Oduro recalled a similar situation during his time at the club when Asante Kotoko had a commanding lead on the league table, far ahead of the Phobians, but struggled to settle for a 3-3 draw with them at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium. He wants the current players to use that history as a guide.
“I remember during our time under coach Bashir Hayford or so, somewhere [the year] 2008 or 2007 or so, a similar thing happened. We were leading the league table with almost 12 points or so. In our game against Hearts of Oak, all the supporters were saying that was a time for us to revenge that 4-0 they beat us with some time ago, because we thought the team we were having at that time, comprising of myself [Stephen Oduro], Eric Bekoe, Jordan [Opoku], [Daniel] Nii Adjei, Harrison Afful, [Samuel] Inkoom, that team. Everybody thought with that team we could also score that 4 nil, but when we started the game, we took the lead through Kwadwo Opoku Mahala, then Hearts of Oak came from behind to equalize and took a 2-1 lead before we made it 2-2 and they scored again.”
“It was even me who scored I think the last goal to end the game 3-3 before we were relieved. So for Kotoko vs Hearts sometimes it’s not about the one with good form, sometimes it’s the team that plays well that carries the day, so that’s the little I can say,” he narrated.
Asante Kotoko will take on Accra Hearts of Oak at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in the GPL Match Week 31 encounter at 3:00 pm on Sunday, May 26, 2024.
Listen to what Oduro said during an interview with Sir Martin on GSP1 MEDIA below:
