The thrills and tension that have gripped clubs going into the last four matches of the Ghana Premier League, will be taken a notch higher when Kumasi Asante Kotoko welcome Aduana Stars in Sunyani on Sunday.
Whereas two title contenders – Berekum Chelsea and Medeama will seek to unseat Kotoko from the summit of the table, those in the bottom ranks will attempt to outrun each other in the increasingly hot fight to stay above the relegation neckline.
Thus the game in Sunyani and other venues will be closely followed by fans of the local Premier League. Kotoko’s game has been moved to the country’s cleanest city after the Ghana Football Association (GFA) announced earlier this week that it has closed the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, which was the centre of violent scenes when Kotoko hosted Medeama on May 8.
Two other centres – the Golden City Park and the Agyeman Badu Park at Berekum and Dormaa Ahenkro respectively have also been shut down.
While many Kotoko fans in Kumasi will be denied the opportunity of watching tomorrow’s game, because not all of them can travel to Sunyani, their Sunyani counterparts, needless to say, will enjoy to the fullest, given the fine performance the team displayed at the Golden City Park, where they hammered Berekum Arsenal 3-0. They are bound to improve on that.
Fans of Aduana Stars will however find it easy traveling to Sunyani from Dormaa Ahenkro – another Brong Ahafo Regional town to watch the week 27 fixture. Sunyani continues to provide Kotoko the tranquility and luck the team often needs especially in hard times.
Kotoko have usually turned to Sunyani for camping and trial matches so the team is familiar with the Coronation Park. Thus, much as the closure of the Baba Yara Sports Stadium may not excite the club, the move to Sunyani comes with a bit of good omen which the fabulous lads will be counting on to beat Aduana Stars to consolidate top position on the league log.
Kotoko drew at Dormaa Ahenkro in the first round tie in November 2012. While that result seemed favourable at that time, a draw tomorrow is not what Coach Mas-ud Didi Dramani and his player have targeted. They have their minds firmly fixed on a win, which they know will come but not without sweat.
After the 3-0 thrashing of relegation threatened, Berekum Arsenal, Coach Dramani declared that there would be no turning back for the Porcupines. He said they would fight hard to keep their number one spot. That aggressive fight is what teeming Kotoko fans in Sunyani and across the country expect against Aduana Stars.
Ahead of the Aduana Stars duel, some Kotoko fans have been appealing to Coach Dramani to stick to his winning team and not make alterations that could affect the club’s chances of winning the match. Others have been calling on the Porcupines to remain resolute in the face of stiff opposition while utilizing the numerous scoring chances they create.
There are those who in the face of the disturbing cases of hooliganism and vandalism have as well been urging fans to exhibit the best of behaviour at every league centre. The various calls, especially those relative to Coach Dramani’s seeming penchant for changing his line-ups and the rate at which the Porcupines squander glorious scoring chances, lay bare the fact that the fans simply want to see the team winning on Sunday in a bid to retain the league title.
The other commentaries or the need for supporters to behave well at league centres thankfully underscore the understanding some fans have that violence will mar the beauty of the game and as well destroy lives and property hence the need to eschew that. All this and more will come together to make the Kotoko-Aduana Stars and other league matches exciting.
By: Jerome Otchere