Kumasi (Ashanti Region) - Kumasi King Faisal beat crest-fallen Kumasi Asante Kotoko 1-0 in their ABC Premier League local derby at the Kumasi Sports Stadium on Sunday in a match that was marred by violence, hold-ups and firing of tear-gas.
The match was held up for over 13 minutes in the 73rd minute when enraged fans hurled stones and bagged iced-water onto the field, forcing the players of both teams massing in the centre of the pitch to save themselves from the flying missiles.
Armed police moved in quickly but were overwhelmed by the intensity of the action of the spectators and had to deploy two riot control vehicles, which took positions at strategic areas of the stadium.
As the fans proved unyielding, the players of Kotoko and officials of the club rushed to the centre-line and pleaded with the fans to give in.
At the time of the incident, Faisal was leading by a lone goal scored by Eric Gawu in the 49th minute after Nana Frimpong had twisted the leaky Kotoko defence.
It was Kotoko who kicked-off but failed to make any impact on the game as Faisal nearly scored the leader in the sixth minute when Massaudu Yahya hit a low shot to miss the side-post narrowly.
Kotoko hit back in the 14th minute with Micheal Osei out-pacing the Faisal defence to deliver a powerful grounder that was saved by goalkeeper Sampson Appiah with some difficulty.
Michael Osei and Shilla Alhassan of Kotoko both missed in the 26th and 32nd minutes respectively as the monarchs reeled under pressure.
After a scoreless first half, Faisal took the lead in the 49th minute as Nana Frimpong sliced through the Kotoko defence to hit a low shot which goalkeeper Samuel Quansah fisted but unmarked Eric Gawu finished off the move to put his side in the lead.
Kotoko went into the offensive but Gordon Ablordey floundered when in a position to score while Isaac Owusu also failed to level up when his piercing shot was blocked on the goal-line, sending Kotoko away empty handed and tasting their fourth defeat in the five-week old league.
