Despite a goalless draw against newly promoted Heart of Lions in their Ghana Premier League opener, Asante Kotoko’s coach, Prosper Ogum, expressed optimism and praised his players for their performance.
Ogum highlighted his satisfaction with the team’s overall display and emphasized the positive aspects of their play. He mentioned their dominance in midfield and their defensive orientation as strong points in the game.
While acknowledging that they lacked the final decision in the attacking third, he praised the players for their performance, especially considering it was their first game of the season and they had just come from pre-season.
“I am not disappointed, I am rather optimistic because if you look at how we played, we had chances that we could have scored and in terms of our defensive orientation, I think we were good and in midfield, we dominated,” he said after the game.
“So if you take the outcome of the game, which is the scoreline out, to me, these guys did very well.
“It is the first game and it was a marvellous performance from the players. I think we have the cohesion, but we lacked the final decision regarding the final pass to the feet of that player that will connect the pass.
“In games like this, Kotoko is a big club and if you look at the fans that came, such moments come and the players are not able to grab it and they begin to feel some nervousness and I think that really affected the final third of the game.
“To me, this is our first game and we just came from pre-season and so if a team come from pre-season and played the way they did, I think it is a plus,” he added.
Asante Kotoko will be looking for their first win of the season when they face Bibiani Goldstars in their upcoming match on Sunday.
