Asante Kotoko smashed Ghana’s U-23 national team, the Black Meteors with a resounding 3-0 victory in a friendly Sunday afternoon.
Both sides used the test match as part of preparations for their respective campaigns on the continent. While the Porcupines are fine-tuning for their Caf Confederation Cup trip to face Kenya’s Kariobangi Sharks on Wednesday, the Black Meteors are preparing to host Togo in Kumasi in a delayed U-23 Afcon qualifying fixture.
The opening goal came late in the first half when skipper Amos Frimpong turned up at the end of a corner-kick with a free header – the last action of the opening 45 minutes at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The Black Meteors looked exhausted in the second half while Kotoko powered their way for more goals with the introduction of speedster Emmanuel Gyamfi.
And the winger will soon provide two assists while missing some scoring opportunities of his own.
On 72 minutes, a switch in play from Maxwell Baakoh on the left saw Gyamfi go past his marker in the box to lay the ball towards Jordan Opoku who finished off with a one-time finish from close range.
With just 7 minutes from full time, Gyamfi again skillfully found his way in the area only to be stopped by Issah Yakubu with an untimely tackle from behnd. And the referee pointed to the spot for Amos Frimpong to step up and expertly convert his second of the day.
Fit-again Songne Yacouba, who came on for Guinean Keita Naby, could have made it 4-0 just on the 90th minute mark but his well-taken free-kick narrowly missed the net.
Sunday’s victory is the second 3-0 scoreline the Porcupine Warriors have recorded at the refurbished Accra Sports Stadium this week. They beat Inter Allies by same result on Wednesday.
Asante Kotoko will revert to their camping base in Aburi to wrap up preparations for their trip to Kenya. They are scheduled to leave Accra for Nairobi on Wednesday ahead of their 2018/19 Caf Confederation Cup 1/16 stage first leg clash at MISC Kasarani on Saturday, December 15.
