By: Kojo Addae-Mensah

Date: 10-11-11

On Wednesday, Mighty Jets got the Kotoko team sitting on tenterhooks for most part of the game. Infact for the entire formal duration of the game as Nafui saved the hearts of many fans with an injury time stunner.

I must be honest that this was a game I thought Kotoko were going to steam roll over jets considering our current form, but I am sure Maxwell Konadu and his charges will know by now that there is no easy ride in the Ghana premier league.

Every game will be a tough one and we can't afford to underrate anybody at all. Of course because of bread and butter matters, I could not afford to sit by a radio and monitor events throughout the game but I gather that he rested some key players but only brought them
back when he realised that the going was now getting tough.

By this time, I am sure mighty jets had already grown in complete confidence and so now scoring them was becoming an issue. I think going forward and of course on 20th, we have no option than to always start with the best 11 people that we have so that we pick the three points along the way.

This was a very difficult win that thankfully took us back to the top of the league and I hope that this time round we stay there and not drop our guards again.

I have written one article already on the need for us to stay on top of the summit of the league and now that we are back on top, we have to move heaven and earth to ensure that whatever happens, we stay on top and win this league title.

Honestly speaking, I had the rare privilege of talking to a top management member this week and I was shocked at how much money has been spent on the team.

Good lord, running a club like Kotoko in Ghana is a serious issue. Inspite of all the sponsorship deals that we have chalked and penciled down, we are still spending millions of Ghana Cedis.

If we do not win the title after all this, then I wonder what the point is at all. We must win this title and make a foray into the champion's league proper where we can reap some cash.

That brings me to the Berekum Arsenals game where we all had the privilege of watching it on TV. I must admit that the quality of the field affected the standard of the game and just as the Premier League has some basic requirements before a venue is agreed to be part of the premiership centres, I think the quality of the field must also be paramount.

Ahhh, even our Saturday knock about field is better than what we played on in the top flight of Ghana soccer.

I was very disappointed and I think it is one reason why Kotoko's game was negatively affected. Yet still we should have taken our chances. We just kept missing them
one after the other and I kept telling myself that this is a dangerous trend.

We have watched football so many times to know that when you keep missing chances, the there is the likelihood that you will live to regret it with one sheer moment on the other side of the field.

Fatawu took his goal excellently. I was excited at the move and how Toure nodded the ball down for him to come out of nowhere to slot home. However I rue the chances that Toure, Nat and even Fatawu himself kept missing.

The defence held out very well until that moment of I don't know what to call it. I don’t know whether it was a moment of loss of concentration, or that tiredness translated into lazy tackles.

I know Maxwell has said we should all back off Awal, but I still feel very strongly about this and think I need to voice out my concern.

I accept what the coach is saying and I agree that it is very important that we do not break the boy's confidence. He is indeed one of the best defenders we have in the country and he no doubt has a future. But as my friend Paul says, he is ''too raw''.

I hope as Maxwell is telling us too back off the guy, he is at the same time polishing him to ensure that the tackles that he makes are tough but clean. What hurts me most is that this last penalty he conceded was not a tackle per se but was a pulling of the hand especially when the attacker was going nowhere and where I believe Soulama would have covered.

I dropped my frustration on facebook after the match and I got mixed reactions but that is okay. Everybody has an opinion that I fully respect. My point is that what is the essence of
playing a solid game for 87 minutes and mess it all up by conceding a penalty that translates into a goal?

I know we will depend a lot on Awal come 20th November and I believe he is the one who should play together with Ohene brenya. Same formation. With Yahaya and Frimpong on the wings.

However, I see Hearts planting the likes of Douglas Nkrumah, Mahatma Otoo and intelligent Uriah Asante on Awal to force him to concede a penalty. I believe that the coaching staff have already picked this fact and will work on it because I strongly believe that that game will define our season and we have the men and the ability to stamp our authority on Hearts.

Talking about Hearts, I heard what they did on Wednesday at the Cape Coast park and I am wondering when these superstitious things will ever stop in Ghana soccer. The FA really needs to stamp this kind of behavior out of the league.

Where in Europe do we see a team start with 9 men and claim that their players are in the wash room? Is this not preposterous? I mean this is crazy and if I were the chairman of the
PLB, I would ensure that the law is such that Hearts would even be banned from the league for a year.

If the punitive measures are not strong enough, our game will never be cleansed from these disgraceful acts.

Just look at the superstition. The game was played on 9/11 and so Hearts decided that superstition dictates that they should start the game with 9 against 11 men? Is that the case? I weep for Ghana soccer.

When will it ever reach world class status and is it a wonder that we are no more able to make any impact in Africa? Look at our last three league champions. What impact at all did they make in Africa?

I must say that it points to the standard of our league and why I say, we must get
our referees to give us quality games so that when the players go out of the country, they are not found wanting.

Last week again, there were controversial refereeing decisions where I am told Edubiase conceded a goal that did not cross the line. 

We are going for an international break right now and when we come back it will be time for HOK part 1. that will be my focus until the d-day, I remain your true red fabulous aficionado.

Kotoko beku me.