Coach Bogdan Korak and his charges are
leaving no stone unturned in their preparation for Wednesday’s
1/16th stage match of the MTN FA Cup against Aduana Stars at the
Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
Kotoko set-up a date with the defending
league champions after eliminating division one side, Deportivo
FC 3-2 in what was a tricky encounter for the Porcupine
Warriors.
Aduana Stars on the other hand qualified by
edging out Ebusua Dwarfs on penalties.
Wednesday’s clash which kicks off at 4:30 pm
is the third Kotoko-Aduana Stars duel this season following
their two Glo Premier League matches at Dormaa and Kumasi.
Kotoko lost the first leg tie of the Glo
Premier league match by 2-0 at Dormaa, but the tables in Kumasi
to chalk an impressive 3-0 win.
That fabulous result is what many Kotoko
fans are expecting their team to replicate in Wednesday’s big
clash.
Kotoko’s training sessions have been ongoing
despite the fact that some players were given rest on Sunday.
The rested players returned yesterday afternoon to continue
their preparation for the game.
Neither Aduana nor Kotoko will come easy but
Kotoko has a slender advantage as available records indicate
that the Dormaa club is often stronger only at home.
With Kotoko winning the last game, it does
not look like Coach Herbert Addo’s team will be capable of
overturning the tables in Kumasi but Kotoko ought not to be
complacent.
Coach Herbert Addo is an excellent tactician
noted for playing it tight at the back and catching opponents on
the break upfront.
How the Porcupine Warriors will approach
this game cannot be told well. However, Kotoko’s Serbian trainer
has never hidden his trait both as an attacking and defensive
minded coach. He is likely to go all out in attack and at the
same time to close the rear firmly.
It therefore behooves on his defenders and
attackers to live up to expectation as they have done in their
last few matches.
Not much has been heard from the camp of
Aduana Stars in terms of playing friendly matches to fine-tune
their tactics ahead of this game.
Kotoko conversely has had a handful of trial
games – the recent one ended in a 1-1 draw at home to Feyenoord
Academy in a match which Coach Bogdan Korak expressed deep
satisfaction with the performance of his players.
However on Wednesday, he will not field the
largely second string side he paraded in that Feyenoord test.
The Porcupines have no major injury concerns
although Nathaniel Asamoah appears not to be in the right
condition. The top goal scorer was benched in the Hearts-Kotoko
Accra top liner. He later left for the camp of the senior
national team, Black Stars and was expected to join his
teammates at the Adako Jachie training grounds to prepare for
the match.
The availability of strong midfielder,
Albert Bruce, is also in doubt. Bruce, whose late minute goal
actually powered Kotoko to this stage, is still in the camp of
the Black Satellites.
Nonetheless, Coach Bogdan Korak has the men
to perform against Aduana Stars as his charges have all proven
to be reliable performers.
Any of these players could start the game on
Wednesday afternoon with an equally capable bench. With the
famous win over Hearts still fresh on the minds of some of the
players and supporters it is important to stress the need for
Kotoko not to be overconfident.
The assertion that Kotoko’s real hopes of
winning a trophy this season lies in the FA Cup competition is
almost becoming stale.
However, the Porcupines have to be reminded
again that their advancement in this competition at this time
depends much on the outcome of tomorrow’s dicey encounter. They
can make it. They should therefore go for the kill to see their
FA Cup triumph well on track.
