Asante Kotoko were held to a 0-0 draw by their city rivals, King Faisal at the Baba Yara Sports on Wednesday evening in the BetPawa Premier League’s matchday 21 Outstanding fixture, leaving a 5-point gap between them and league leaders Aduana Stars.
Three days after beating RTU 4-0, Kotoko failed to reproduce the fireworks against the Inshallah Boys.
Coach Abdulai Gazale was hoping to record his second win in what appeared to be a comfortable fixture on paper, yet the visitors stayed loyal to their task and managed to leave with a point.
Despite dominating the game in the first half, Kotoko failed to break the deadlock.
The GPL holders were almost caught off-guard in the 19th minute but the goalkeeper for King Faisal denied Mukwala the chance to snatch the lead.
At the other end, the Inshallah Boys came closer to register the first goal during the 39th minute but goalkeeper Frederick Asare made an impressive save from near post.
King Faisal continued to look threatening and would have been in front but Asare put on a show to keep another clean sheet.
After a frustrating first half, the Porcupine Warriors brought on Isaac Oppong, Mohammed Sheriff and Mfegue in the hope of opening up more scoring chances. But their presence failed to make any difference despite Abdul Latif’s red card in the 76th minute.
Both teams pressed hard and fouled cynically. At times, it was a frustrating back-and-forth affair with plenty of stoppages. They all stood firm to ensure the points were shared.
Kotoko, with 39 points have moved to the fourth place on the league table – level on point with their noisy rivals Accra Hearts of Oak.
King Faisal have also climbed to the 11th position with 32 and Coach Ignatius Osei-Fosu will be pleased with the result. It was his first assignment following his appointment on Wednesday afternoon.
