Kumasi, Jan. 28, GNA – Two goals from Franck Etouga Mbella was all Asante Kotoko needed to claim all three points in their Match Day 15 encounter with Accra Great Olympics at the Baba Yara Stadium on Friday.
The Cameroonian converted a spot kick on the 8th minute after which he sealed victory for the Porcupines on the 33rd minute to strengthen Kotoko’s lead on the league log.
Asante Kotoko made their intentions to carry the day known right after kick-off as they made early incursions into the half of the Dade Boys.
It was during one of their incessant attacks that Mbella was brought down in the penalty box after going round his marker on the 7th minute.
The Cameroonian import perfectly converted the resultant penalty to send the home fans into early jubilation.
The home side continued to dominate after the goal as Oly struggled to tame the attacking prowess of the league leaders who were searching for their second consecutive win after dropping points at Brekum on Match Day 13.
Their efforts paid off on the 33rd minute when Mbella benefitted from a goal mouth melee to fetch the second goal of the afternoon.
The Porcupine Warriors continued to dictate the pace of the game and went into recess with a comfortable 2-0 lead.
The second half however saw Great Olympics making two quick substitutions just after five minutes with Kotoko still dominating the early exchanges of the half.
The substitutions brought some stability into their midfield which had been seized by the likes of Mudasiru, Sherrif and Lamptey of Asante Kotoko.
At this point, the game became balanced with both sides occasionally creating decent chances but failed to make them count.
Kotoko’s George Mfegue had perhaps the brightest chance of the second half with only the Olympics goalkeeper at his mercy but was very sluggish, allowing a defender of Olympics to clear the ball to safety.
Both sides squandered decent chances in last 20 minutes but Kotoko held on to their two-goal lead until referee Philip Atta Forson brought proceedings to an end.
With this result Asante Kotoko have extended their lead on the league table by nine points with a game in hand.
GNA