Fresh from their slender 0-1 loss to Wydad Casablanca of Morocco, team chiefs of Kumasi Asante Kotoko are recommending caution ahead of the ultimate contest three weeks away. But the teeming fans cannot wait.
Thousands stand poised to occupy every space at the Kotoka International Airport on Tuesday evening to accord the team, returning from Morocco, a welcome fit for heroes. The fans’ anxiety has also received a big boost from team coach Ralf Zumdick with the promise that the final hurrah would be Kotoko’s to savour in Kumasi.
In a post-match interview with the press, Zumdick assured the Kotoko family of at least a 2-0 victory over the Moroccans when they engage each other in the Cup Winners Cup final in Kumasi on December 8. His real target, however, is a 3-0 demolition of the Moroccans.
The anticipated thriller in Kumasi will climax a year-long search for the most powerful side in Africa’s second most prestigious club football competition. Kotoko, the two-time Africa champions in the elite Champion Clubs competition, are also eager to claim a place in history as the first Ghanaian club to win the Cup Winners Cup.
This final phase of their campaign started on a wobble last Sunday in Casablanca where a second-half goal from striker Mohamed Madihi handed hosts Wydad Casablanca that slender 1-0 win.
Driving rain and a muddy pitch made playing conditions difficult for both teams, forcing them into a kick and rush-like battle of attrition. The ball consistently stuck in puddles of water or patches of mud.
Madihi stole in at the back post to score after team mate Mourad Erraji headed a free kick from Boujemaa Kassab perfectly into his path for a close-range tap-in. The 50th minute goal came just 60 seconds after Erraji had a penalty saved by Kotoko's goalkeeper Osei Boateng.
The Moroccan hosts were handed a rather soft looking spot kick by the Camerounian referee after a challenge on Abdelhak Ait Laarif. Television replays showed just a slight brush as the Wydad midfielder went tumbling down in the area.
Erraji hammered his kick to the left of the Kotoko goalkeeper but Boateng came up with a splendid save to deny the hosts. Aiut Laarif might have got a second for Wydad in the 64th minute as he ran round the Ghanaian goalkeeper but he slipped on the wet surface as he attempted a shot from a tight angle.
Kotoko produced just two noteworthy chances, both early in the second half when, first, Wydad's defence cleared at the end of a goalmouth scramble and then goalkeeper Tarik El Jarmouni pushed a powerful shot from Shila Alhassan over the crossbar.
Despite the defeat, Kotoko will now be considered favourites for the title given their free scoring form at home where they have found the net four times in both the home legs of their quarter-final and semi-final.
The second leg of the final is to be played on December 8 with both sides looking to add the Cup Winners Cup title to previous success in the African Champions Cup.
