Asante Kotoko coach Maxwell Konadu reckons rivals Hearts of Oak gave the Porcupine Warriors a good run for their money in Sunday's Ghana Premier League showdown.
The 'big boys' of Ghana football rekindled their rivalry in a matchday six fixture at the Accra Sports Stadium.
A Naby Laye Keita injury-time penalty ultimately decided the fixture as it earned visiting Kotoko a 2-1 triumph.
"It wasn't an easy match and I must say Hearts have a good team but my team is also picking up and we have to congratulate the team," Konadu said at the post-match press conference after the game.
"I know the team [Hearts] too well and I must be honest, this time around, they have a very solid team.
"When the game is getting tough, there are so many tricks and stuff we bring on board.
"If you could see in the last minutes, I was signalling my goalkeeper to try something else because we were leading and we needed to do something to kill the game off."
Twenty-three-time league champions Kotoko have moved to fourth on the 2019-20 championship standings.
The Porcupines host Liberty Professionals in their next league game.
Hearts, on the other hand, will hope to bounce back when they play as guests to Dreams FC.