{"id":17900,"date":"2019-02-03T21:11:22","date_gmt":"2019-02-03T21:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/?p=17900"},"modified":"2019-02-03T21:11:22","modified_gmt":"2019-02-03T21:11:22","slug":"five-things-learned-asante-kotoko-suffer-defeat-sudan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/five-things-learned-asante-kotoko-suffer-defeat-sudan\/","title":{"rendered":"Four things we learned as Asante Kotoko suffer defeat in Sudan"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Al Hilal stood firm against Asante Kotoko to make sure they grab all three points in their first CAF Confederation Cup group game.<\/h3>\n<p>Asante Kotoko have managed to grind out away results during the playoffs; they managed to shut down Kariobangi Sharks in Kenya and surprised Coton Sports in Cameroon, but luck wasn&#8217;t on their side on Sunday as they suffered a narrow defeat against Al Hilal.<\/p>\n<p>Waleed Hamid&#8217;s goal was the difference at Ombdurman on Sunday, confusion at the Kotoko defence enabled the 20-year-old to connect with a headed pass to put his side in front.<\/p>\n<p>Asante Kotoko came close to equalize when Abdul Fatawu&#8217;s shot hit the bar in the early stages of the second half. Kotoko ran out of ideas in the remaining minutes of the game as they struggled to string passes in the final third.<\/p>\n<p>CK Akonnor and his boys will have to work very hard if they want to salvage anything from the group stage.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"z5y6zR6BDu\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/asante-kotoko-suffer-defeat-sudan\/\">Asante Kotoko suffer defeat in Sudan<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Asante Kotoko suffer defeat in Sudan&#8221; &#8212; Sahara Football\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/asante-kotoko-suffer-defeat-sudan\/embed\/#?secret=rjn3RyrtCe#?secret=z5y6zR6BDu\" data-secret=\"z5y6zR6BDu\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Asante Kotoko lacked Creativity<\/h2>\n<p>CK Akonnor tried to emulate the style he used in Kenya against Kariobangi Sharks in the playoffs, a style where the midfielders will drop back to help the defence. It was very clear that Kotoko were\u00a0being cautious, their style of play was to stop Al Hilal from scoring and this would have panned out if the defence didn&#8217;t fall asleep in the incident that led to a goal.<\/p>\n<p>Apart from the attempt that hit the bar, Fatawu didn&#8217;t create real chances in the final third. He struggled to connect with Sogne Yacouba who was left isolated up front. Fatawu dropped deep to the center midfield while Bonsu and Senanu dropped deeper to shield the defensive line. Their main focus was to make sure they try to stop Al Hilal from scoring.<\/p>\n<p>If they really want to start getting results, they need to start creating chances that will lead to goals instead of defending and hoping for the best.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Sogne Yacouba was left Isolated<\/h2>\n<p>A lot of people have been criticizing Sogne Yacouba because he has struggled to find the back of the net since he returned from injury. What many don&#8217;t understand is that he is a very talented player but can&#8217;t perform fully without the help of his teammates.<\/p>\n<p>Against Al Hilal, Sogne Yacouba dropped back to collect passes from the midfield before attempting to move the ball forward on several occasions. He had to settle for long-range shots because his teammates were not positioning themselves for passes up front.<\/p>\n<p>Baakoh and Gyamfi also dropped deep and made it look a defensive 4-5-1 formation, they lacked connection and communication. Baakoh made several fruitless runs down the right wing, Gyamfi was roaming aimlessly in the game. None of these two wingers managed to create anything tangible with Sogne Yacouba in the final third, and this is something CK Akonnor should look into.<\/p>\n<h2>Kotoko Defenders should emulate Amos Frimpong<\/h2>\n<p>Amos Frimpong was Kotoko&#8217;s best player against Al Hilal, a real captain performance was seen at the Al Hilal Stadium. Frimpong took charge of the right back, he even tried to make attacking runs down the right when Gyamfi was out of position.<\/p>\n<p>The bold captain did his defensive duties and made sure no mistakes were made from his section. He tried to encourage the team with his claps and shouting after they found themselves behind.<\/p>\n<p>If only the entire defence had the same passion, they would have shut out the Al Hilal attack and snuffed out every goal threat.<\/p>\n<h2>Asante Kotoko are in dire need of a playmaker<\/h2>\n<p>For games like this where everyone is expected to work towards stopping the opponents from scoring, I think Asante Kotoko will do even better if they have a playmaker that can create chances whenever they have the ball or are on a counter attack.<\/p>\n<p>Kotoko often looked lost whenever they attempt to move the ball into the final third, they end up settling for unproductive back passes.<\/p>\n<p>The porcupines need someone who can pick out teammates that can run with the ball and cause harm to the opponent, a player that can move into spaces and set up decisive passes. If they can get someone with this attribute, I think they will be able to create a connection in the final third.<\/p>\n<p>Senanu and Frimpong&#8217;s performance are the positives in the game and I am sure that CK Akonnor will be pleased with their output.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Al Hilal stood firm against Asante Kotoko to make sure they grab all three points in their first CAF Confederation Cup group game. Asante Kotoko have managed to grind out away results during the playoffs; they managed to shut down Kariobangi Sharks in Kenya and surprised Coton Sports in Cameroon, but luck wasn&#8217;t on their<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9536,8417],"tags":[9537,9615,6875,8633,8052,7337],"class_list":{"0":"post-17900","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-caf-confederation-cup","8":"category-featured","9":"tag-al-hilal","10":"tag-amos-frimpong","11":"tag-asante-kotoko","12":"tag-caf-confederations-cup","13":"tag-sogne-yacouba","14":"tag-sudan"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/IMG-20190203-WA0019.jpg?fit=840%2C480&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8jzHl-4EI","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17838,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/caf-cc-asante-kotoko-sudan-match-al-hilal\/","url_meta":{"origin":17900,"position":0},"title":"CAF CC: Asante Kotoko arrive in Sudan for match against Al Hilal","author":"Clinton Eleto","date":"February 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Asante Kotoko have landed in Sudan where they will face Al Hilal for their first CAF Confederation Cup group game. http:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/will-defeat-al-hilal-kotoko-defender-wahab-adams\/ Kotoko arrived Khartoum International Airport in the early hours of Friday, they were welcomed by delegates from the Sudanese Football Federation who assisted them pass airport security and other\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAF Confederation Cup&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAF Confederation Cup","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/caf-confederation-cup\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Breaking: Asante Kotoko release five players","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/kotoko-in-sudan.jpg?fit=1024%2C595&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/kotoko-in-sudan.jpg?fit=1024%2C595&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/kotoko-in-sudan.jpg?fit=1024%2C595&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/kotoko-in-sudan.jpg?fit=1024%2C595&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18594,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/al-hilal-arrive-face-kotoko-caf-confederation-cup-match\/","url_meta":{"origin":17900,"position":1},"title":"Al Hilal arrive to face Kotoko in CAF Confederation Cup match","author":"Clinton Eleto","date":"March 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Al Hilal arrive to face Kotoko in CAF Confederation Cup match Sudanese side Al-Hilal have arrived\u00a0 in Accra ahead of their CAF Confederation Cup game against Asante Kotoko in Kumasi. Al-Hilal will fly to Kumasi where they will begin preparations for the game on Sunday. Asante Kotoko were beaten in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAF Confederation Cup&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAF Confederation Cup","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/caf-confederation-cup\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Al Hilal arrive to face Kotoko in CAF Confederation Cup match","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ALHI.jpeg?fit=1080%2C607&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ALHI.jpeg?fit=1080%2C607&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ALHI.jpeg?fit=1080%2C607&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ALHI.jpeg?fit=1080%2C607&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ALHI.jpeg?fit=1080%2C607&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17791,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/will-defeat-al-hilal-kotoko-defender-wahab-adams\/","url_meta":{"origin":17900,"position":2},"title":"We will defeat Al Hilal &#8211; Kotoko defender Wahab Adams","author":"Clinton Eleto","date":"January 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Asante Kotoko defender is confident that Kotoko will defeat Sudanese side Al Hilal in their first group stage game of the CAF Confederation Cup, he added that they will win Al Hilal to make the supporters happy. Asante Kotoko have managed to overcome Kariobangi Sharks and Coton Sport in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAF Confederation Cup&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAF Confederation Cup","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/caf-confederation-cup\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wahab Adams extends contract with Asante Kotoko","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/WAHAB-A.jpg?fit=1024%2C617&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/WAHAB-A.jpg?fit=1024%2C617&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/WAHAB-A.jpg?fit=1024%2C617&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/WAHAB-A.jpg?fit=1024%2C617&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17891,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/asante-kotoko-suffer-defeat-sudan\/","url_meta":{"origin":17900,"position":3},"title":"Asante Kotoko suffer defeat in Sudan","author":"Clinton Eleto","date":"February 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Asante Kotoko experienced first defeat in their African Campaign on Sunday evening when they lost their game against Al Hilal in Ombdurman, Sudan. The porcupines had a night to forget as they fell short in Sudan. Al Hilal scored in the 4oth minute through\u00a0Waleed Bakhiek Hamid who connected with a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAF Confederation Cup&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAF Confederation Cup","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/caf-confederation-cup\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Asante Kotoko reject $300,000 bid for Sogne Yacouba","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/yacou.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/yacou.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/yacou.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/yacou.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/yacou.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17755,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/match-officials-al-hilal-kotoko-game-revealed\/","url_meta":{"origin":17900,"position":4},"title":"Match officials for Al Hilal-Kotoko game revealed","author":"Clinton Eleto","date":"January 28, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Egyptian referee\u00a0\u00a0Mahmoud Zakaria Mohamed El Banna will officiate the CAF Confederation Cup game between Al-Hilal and Asante Kotoko in Sudan. Zakaria will be assisted by\u00a0Tahssen Abo El Sadat Bedyer and Youssef Wahid Youssef Elbosaty. Asante Kotoko will travel to\u00a0Omdurman to play their first group stage game in 11 years. \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAF Confederation Cup&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAF Confederation Cup","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/caf-confederation-cup\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Match officials for Al Hilal-Kotoko game revealed","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/zakaria-1.jpg?fit=800%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/zakaria-1.jpg?fit=800%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/zakaria-1.jpg?fit=800%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/zakaria-1.jpg?fit=800%2C480&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17941,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/not-satisfied-way-played-asante-kotoko-coach-ck-akonnor\/","url_meta":{"origin":17900,"position":5},"title":"I was not satisfied with the way we played &#8211; Asante Kotoko coach CK Akonnor","author":"Clinton Eleto","date":"February 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"CK AKonnor wasn't altogether pleased with the performance his team put out against Al Hilal in the CAF Confederation Cup game on Sunday. Asante Kotoko suffered a narrow defeat against Al Hilal in Ombdurman, making it their first defeat in their African campaign. CK Akonnor said in the post-match conference\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAF Confederation Cup&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAF Confederation Cup","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/caf-confederation-cup\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"CK Akonnor admits difficulty in selecting players for Black Stars","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/c44.jpg?fit=1200%2C838&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/c44.jpg?fit=1200%2C838&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/c44.jpg?fit=1200%2C838&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/c44.jpg?fit=1200%2C838&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/c44.jpg?fit=1200%2C838&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17900"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17940,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17900\/revisions\/17940"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}