By: David Kyei

Date: 30-05-11

The poor display of tactical football and the heart-breaking event of losing hitherto “easy” matches by Asante Kotoko are receiving bad reaction with the highest point of disappointment expressed after the defeat to Liberty Professionals at the Baba Yara Stadium last Sunday.

In the said match, Kotoko took an early lead through an Ahmed Toure header, surrendered that lead when Liberty equalize, took the lead again some few minutes to half time through Nathaniel Asamoah.

In the second half, Kotoko did not only surrender the lead, but went ahead to lose the match 2-3.

Many fans who spoke to Kotoko Express after the match were so disappointed that they still could not believe that Kotoko had lost at the Baba Yara Stadium of all places.

Much as the defeat was painful, the manner of defeat, the types of goals conceded and the lack of fight by some of the players were the points that irked some of the fans, whilst others complain about the player blend adopted by the Coach Korak for that particular match.

Throughout the chats with the fans, one question that run through was whether Kotoko was intentionally losing those matches for a purpose.

“I think there is more reasons for the defeat that management is not telling us. It will do us a lot of good for us to be kept in the know if the was policy to lose the remaining matches so that our hearts could be spared the aches were have had to endure anytime we lose a match,” said one Kwaku Asumadu who regularly comes to watch Kotoko matches with his fiancé.

“It has taken me a lot of convincing to get my fiancé to come to the stadium with me and now look at the performances being churned out? Instead of finishing the season in grand style, just look at the look at what we are being served”.

“Much as the coach’s selection sometimes are incomprehensible, I believe the players have the duty to take their destiny in their own hands if things turn bad in the course of the match,” he concluded.

Another supporter who was boiling with rage was King Solo who has been attending all of Kotoko’s home matches from Sunyani.

“My brother, I began feeling jittery when I read the coach saying that his target was the MTN FA cup. Though he has the right to hold that opinion, I believe he should be told in plain language that Kotoko would also take a huge pride if we end the season as the second placed team”.

“The coach may not have come in full grasp of the expectations of Kotoko supporters and so I appeal to management and all those closer to the coach to make him know what it means to be the coach of the African club of the century”.

Hamza from Sefwi Boako in the Western Region was almost in tears and wondered what had hit the team that started the second round of the season so well.

“Are these not the same players who were winning matches not too long ago? I call for a probe into our recent failures. I believe there is more to it,” he said.

Through the social network site Facebook, Derick Ofori Amankwa also sent an inbox message on his worries and frustration with the performance of the team.

“I have been doing all I could to convince some of my friends who have stopped watching our matches to come back to the stadium, but with this performance, I do not know what to do next,” he wrote.

Adding some more, he suggested that that Coach Korak should take a second look at his substitutions because “it is becoming clear that anytime he does a substitution, we suffer for it as our performance slump”.

Many other fans also spoke and the bottom line of their frustration and concerns was why Kotoko is finishing the season on a poor note”.