It is going to be a historic tie, because they have never played on match day 5 and it is also the first time they will play against each other on a Friday in a league fixture.
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Kotoko face Hasaacas hurdle on Friday
The Porcupine Warriors continue their search for first win in the ongoing Ghana Premier League as they face Hasaacas on Friday.
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Team news and match facts
Asante Kotoko
Pressure is mounting on Coach David Duncan, following a crisis meeting at the club’s secretariat, with reports that he has been given 3 matches to make amends or else shown the exit door for poor show.
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The hosts, following their away defeat to Berekum Chelsea last weekend equaled their worst start to a league season in 1974, when they went 4 games without a win. (L2 and D2), like this current season.
Kotoko in both home games this season were held to a 2-2 draw and a goalless against, Medeama and Ashgold, respectively.
Kotoko have scored only two goals and conceded 6 goals and a pinned to the drop zone.
The Porcupine Warriors, following the humiliating 0-3 loss to Berekum Chelsea on match day 22 ended the season with 4 straight wins at home, but have drawn their 2 league games at home this season, leaving their vociferous supporters stranded.
Injury worries have been the bane of the Porcupine warriors, having suffered series of injuries, before and during the start of the season: Jackson Owusu and Felix Annan are on the sidelines due to injuries, whereas the like Kwame Boateng, Edwin Frimpong Manso, Dauda Mohammed have been inconsistent, due to knocks.
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Hasaacas
They have lost their 2 away league games for the season, but their 4 points were secured at home, beating Techiman City and sharing honours with the champions, Ashgold.
Hasaacas have so far being poor in away ties, having lost both games without getting on the score sheet and have conceded 8 goals. (Wa All Stars 3-0 Hasaacas and WAFA 5-0 Hasaacas). They are thus far the team with the worst away performance in the current season.
Last season they had to wait until the match day 21 of the league to register an away victory by stunning Hearts of Oak in Accra and did it again against Liberty Professionals in Accra on the last day of the league
The leading topscorer for Hasaacas is Eric Bekoe, a former Asante Kotoko marksman, who won the league’s goalking in his first season with the Porcupine warriors in the 2007-08 season. He is on 3 goals in the current season, but he is yet to score an away league goal. It would be recalled that he punished his former side, Kotoko by scoring against them when he joined Berekum Chelsea.
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Coach Yusif Basigi’s charges were one of the best home performers last season, until they surrendered their impregnable home feat when Kotoko handed them a 0-1 defeat at Essipong Sports Stadium.
Head to head
Hasaacas managed to run away with a point from the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in their last visit in a 2-2 dueling encounter.
-Kotoko have had 81 league encounters against Sekondi Hasaacas. The figure is not an odd number because in some of the seasons in the 60’s and the 70’s, only second round games came off or the league ended abruptly and the leaders were declared champions.
-Kotoko have beaten Hasaacas on 44 occasions, which is more than half of their meetings, with Hasaacas winning 16 and 21 of them ending in draws.
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-The Giants of the West defeated Kotoko in their very first league encounter in 1958 at Jackson Park in Kumasi by three (3) goals to two (2)
Head to head in only the Ghana Premier League (GPL)
-The GPL started in the 1993-94 season, but Hasaacas made their maiden premier league appearance in the 1996-97 season.
-The Porcupine Warriors have played against the Giant of the West on 28 occasions.
-Hasaacas have won twice of such meetings, with Kotoko winning 15 and drawing 11 games. Coincidentally both wins came at the adopted home grounds of Kotoko. They first beat Kotoko away at Nkawkaw in the 1996/97 season and they last did it in the 2006-07 season at Sunyani, so Hasaacas are yet to record victory in Kumasi against Kotoko, however, they did it thrice in the pre-premier league era.
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The last time Hasaacas secured a win against Kotoko in Kumasi was Wednesday 17th October, 1984 when they piped the Porcupine Warriors by a goal to nil to record a double over them, having earlier defeated them by a goal to nil in Sekondi on match day 11.
These sides have had 3 encounters in the month of March since 1958. Hasaacas have a superior record, with 2 wins against 1 by Kotoko, but both of Hasaacas wins came in Sekondi, while Kotoko also had their victory in Kumasi. The first March game came in March 17, 1963 which Kotoko won 2-1 in Kumasi, while the last game between them in the month of March was played on 16 March, 1975 at Sekondi and the host won 2-0.
This is going to be the first league clash between these sides on a match day 5 and a Friday.
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