Techiman Eleven Wonders forward Osman Zakaria has issued a sincere apology following his penalty miss in the Division One League Zone 1 playoff defeat against Bofoakwa Tano.
The miss proved costly as it denied Eleven Wonders a golden opportunity to secure promotion to the Ghana Premier League.
Expressing deep remorse, Zakaria extended his heartfelt apology to the fans of Eleven Wonders, the people of Techiman, and the entire Bono East Region for his costly error.
He emphasised that he would never intentionally miss a penalty, particularly one as crucial as this, and highlighted that missing penalties is not a common occurrence for him.
Addressing the speculation surrounding his unusual run-up before taking the penalty kick, Zakaria clarified that it is his trademark style.
"I will never deliberately miss a penalty, not to talk of an important one like this. I am appealing to the fans of Eleven Wonders, the people of Techiman, and the whole Bono East Region to forgive me. I don't remember the last time I missed a penalty," he said on Akoma FM.
Explaining his strange run-up, he added, "For those asking why I moved a distance away from the ball before it was kicked, it is my trademark. After missing the penalty, I was consoled by my teammates, especially our senior player who is a former Medeama player. He said a lot to me, but sincerely I could not hear any of the words he was saying because my heart was broken."
Tuesday evening. Promotion playoff game between Eleven Wonders and Tano Bofoakwa. Bofoakwa miss their penalty in sudden death, Wonders have a chance with one kick away and the Osman Zakaria goes and does this… pic.twitter.com/mr8LD0mvNw
— Yaw (@theyawofosu) May 31, 2023
Zakaria and Eleven Wonders will now gather themselves and prepare for the next season, aiming for qualification.