One of the brilliant aspects of Sunday’s 2025 President’s Cup was the hundreds of uniformed high school students who attended the match.
For a lot of them, it was their first exposure to a live, elite football event in Ghana. From real-life experiences, close-up access to celebrities, mascots, and the electric atmosphere, there was a lot they had not experienced before.
If you were close to any of them, chances are that they would have bombarded you with a ton of questions about the rules of the game, the Hearts of Oak goal that was ruled offside, Peter Amidu’s offside that never was, etc., etc.
If there is a concept that needs no explanation, it is the concept of smash and grab.
Kotoko demonstrated it to devastating effect, thanks in no small part to Konadu Yiadom’s schoolboy defending.
His excellency John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, captures a moment in Sunday’s match played in his honor
Between the 51st and 53rd minutes, Konadu Yiadom single-handedly decided the game, first, with an own goal to draw Kotoko level before kindly giving the ball away to Albert Amoah, who found Kwame Opoku for Kotoko’s second.
But it was not all down to Konadu’s charity.
Zito’s tactical tweaks
Karim Zito with the President’s Cup, his second trophy with Asante Kotoko after winning the FA Cup. (Photo credit: Asante Kotoko)
Ten minutes before the interval, Karim Zito replaced Patrick Asiedu with Hubert Gyau. The midfielder joined fellow new signing Seth Kwadwo and Emmanuel Antwi in the heart of midfield.
The reshuffle ended the experiment that rendered Albert Amoah ineffective in attack.
The changes paid off as Kotoko wrestled back control of the game at the beginning of the second half.
With their intensity, an extra man in Albert Amoah who dropped deep to support their build-up, Kotoko took the game to Hearts of Oak and stretched the Phobian defense at will.
It took all of six minutes for Kotoko to restore parity when Peter Amidu left Emmanuel Amankwaah chasing shadows before Kondadu deflected his cross into the net.
When Hearts threatened to restore parity, the reply from Kotoko was instant and brutal.
They pressed high up the pitch, hounding Konadu Yiadom into another mistake.
It was a gift in truth, but it was also a direct consequence of Kotoko’s intensity and persistence.
After leveling the score, Kotoko did not relent. They kept pounding away, ultimately forcing the error that led to Kwame Opoku’s goal.
Peter Amidu’s day
Prosper Narteh Ogum was berated for the high transfer turnover. But if there is one player whose quality cannot be in doubt, it is Peter Amidu Acquah.
He was largely overshadowed by Kotoko’s inconsistencies but if you paid close attention to him, his quality was not in doubt.
To that extent, his man-of-the-match performance was hardly surprising.
Kotoko captain Samba O’neil receives the trophy from President John Dramani Mahama
What was surprising, however, was the fact that he pulled that off without training for the past week.
Amidu was a doubt before the game, having sat out the club’s training in the week prior.
Discomfort or not, he stepped up and produced his finest performance yet in Kotoko colours.
The fact that he did it on the biggest occasion and in front of the President gives it an extra layer of significance.
Hearts of Oak’s old habits bite again
Sunday was another Super Clash where Hearts players made errors directly leading to goals.
The only difference between Richmond Ayi (2023) and Kelvin Osei Asibey’s (2023, 2024) gifts to Kotoko was that, this time, Konadu Yiadom gave away two goals.
Even for Kotoko, who are by now getting used to the regularity of these mistakes, would have been surprised by Sunday’s offer.
Two, for the price of none.
Hearts line up for the customary pre-match photo
As bad as it was, it could have been worse. If Kwame Opoku had scored from Yiadom’s heavy touch in the first half, it would have been three gifts from one man.
What is this? Christmas?
Perhaps the unusually cold weather has deceived Konadu Yiadom that it is Christmas.
But it is not. It is still July.
Didi Dramani’s rebuild
As bad as Konadu Yiadom was – and he was terrible, he is still one half of Hearts of Oak’s most trusted center back pairing.
He is one player who should not be starting games for Hearts of Oak under the new manager, Didi Dramani.
In fact, of all the defenders at the club, Kelvin Osei-Asibey, who was substituted at half time, is the only one Didi Dramani can trust.
The defense is not Dramani’s only headache.
Hearts had no central threat to their attack, and when Dramani needed to make changes, the options were hardly inspiring.
That means Hearts would have to invest in the squad and do so heavily.
In his first two weeks, Dramani has tried to assert control over all sporting decisions. He notably froze all discussions for new signings, insisting on independently reviewing every player before sanctioning any move.
While that is every bit as necessary, the former Kotoko coach would have to use all his contacts to find talent to replace the deals he vetoed.
On Sunday, Didi Dramani was trying to micro-manage the team, coaching every action from the touchline.
It is the stuff a coach does when he does not trust his players and feels the need to decide every action they take.
It was hardly surprising.
After all, this group of Hearts players have flirted with relegation in two of the last three seasons, finishing each without a trophy.
Sunday was a reminder that Hearts of Oak needs an open-heart surgery to overhaul the squad and rebuild a new, functional, and competitive team.
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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