[ad_1]
Asante Kotoko suffered a surprising defeat in the Ghana Premier League (GPL) on Thursday as they were defeated 1-0 in the Grand Olympics at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Michael Yeboah’s effort in the second half condemned the 23-time champions to their first defeat of the season in the standout match of Matchday 3.
The result has left the Porcupine Warriors one spot down in the league table from ninth to 10th, while the opposition takes a giant leap from 14th to fifth.
In their first of four games in the next 10 days, Kotoko’s coach Maxwell Konadu made two changes to his starting lineup, adding Abdul Latif Anabila and William Opoku Mensah.
The new Brazilian signing Fabio Gama Dos Santos, once again, was not named in the call for the day.
In the end, Yeboah became the hero of the day when he headed home with an Abdul Manaf cross in the 54th minute to decide the match.
Defeat was not Kotoko’s only concern since the match. The former Atalanta left-back, in his second appearance with his new club after a recent transfer, was substituted 10 minutes before the break after sustaining an injury.
The situation on the full-backs is a major headache for the Porcupine Warriors, as they will face Dreams FC on Sunday and Sudanese Al-Hilal in the Caf Champions League next week.
The match was played in Accra, as the Kumasi-based group has to take time away from the traditional Baba Yara sports stadium due to ongoing renovation works.
So far this season, Kotoko has won one (a 1-0 win over Legon Cites) of four Premier League games, drawing two (1-1 with Eleven Wonders on matchday one and 1-1 against Berekum Chelsea ) and missing one.
The club has set its sights on winning the top flight for a record 24th time and the first since defeating the Heart of Lions for the title in 2014.
The Olympics, on the other hand, have won their second game of the season, their first three points courtesy of a 3-0 home win over Legon Cities. His performance stats include a draw (1-1 vs. Medeama) and a loss (2-0 loss to Liberty Professionals).
