A lone goal from Cameroonian Import, Franck Mbella Etouga ensured that league leaders, Asante Kotoko bounced back from two straight losses to earn a slim 1-0 win at Sogakope against West African Football Academy (WAFA) on Saturday in a match week 27 fixture.
The win extended their lead at the summit to nine points and compounded WAFA’s relegation fight.
Etouga, the league’s leading marksman, proved to be the hero of the Porcupine Warriors, when he kept his composure in the 65th minute after being fed brilliantly by Andrews Appau.
He warded off a challenge by the WAFA defence on a spirited run before dribbling past WAFA goalie, Kwadwo Bonsu to plant the ball into an empty net to take his goal tally to 18.
The win was the visitor’s first at Sogakope in seven attempts and was described by Head Coach Dr Prosper Nartey Ogum as one that elicited ‘mixed feelings’ and was ‘emotional’ because of his connection to the WAFA stock.
Coach Ogum joined Kotoko from WAFA at the end of last season after guiding WAFA to an impressive fifth in the 2020/21 season and has definitely not lost any love for his former side adding that it was unfortunate the win will further sink WAFA in their quest for survival.
“My exploits at WAFA brought me into the coaching limelight and so it is unfortunate that our win will compound their challenges with relegation but we are professionals and so when it is business, it is business and so we had to get the job done.”
The game from the onset was an even contest with the home side slightly ahead with the added impetus of moving from their second from bottom spot on the league log.
But they struggled to create clear cut chances despite enjoying a large chunk of the possession, the introduction of Sampson Agyapong and Justus Torsutsey in the second-half, seemed to have added some bite to the homeside’s attack. In one instance, Agyapong tested Kotoko goalie Danlad Ibrahim with a power-laden strike, but Danlad was up to the occasion punching it away. A similar scenario was created in the WAFA goal area with Kotoko midfielder Salifu Mudasiru on the end of a strike that lacked power to trouble Bonsu making Etouga’s
BY NANA BENTSI ODURO
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