Posted by The Premier League came in early this weekend, Legon Cities Fc faced Asante Kotoko in the first fixture of the gameweek, which was the first evening fixture of the season. Legon Cities started the game on the front foot. Mudasiru Salifu in the 3rd minute brought down Sule Sadick close to the Kotoko penalty box. Abdul Karim’s effort from the resulting freekick was sent wide. Songe Yacouba in the 8th minute showed some perseverance as he chased Mohammed Suleman for a loosed ball inside the Legon City half. The striker wins the ball but was pulled down by the Legon Cities defender just close to the 18 yard box, the resulting freekick was hoofed away by the alert defense. There was a decent play on the Legon Cities left flank as Romeo Oppong gets to the end of a long pass and sent in a decent cross which was connected by Greek striker Papadopoulos at the far post. 1 nil to Legon Cities. The game from then was evenly contested with both defense on alert to clear every dangerous ball. There was a penalty shout in the 28th minute when Augustine Okrah’s header inside the Legon Cities 18 yard box was allegedly handled by a Cities player. Referee waved play on. Kotoko striker Sogne Yacouba had a chance to level matters in the 32rd minute, he pounced on a loose clearance by the Legon Cities defense, but his feeble effort went wide. A minute later, the Porcupine warriors found themselves level after Songne Yacouba sent a through pass to Augustine Okrah, who dunk the ball over the onrushing Fatau Dawda. 1-1. Romeo Oppong in the 38th minute was shown the first yellow card of the evening after he handled the ball halfway inside his own half. The resulting freekick from Imoro Ibrahim was cleared by the defense. There was little action from then, Referee added 1 minute of additional time but none of the two sides was able to make good use of it. The first half ended 1-1. Dancehall artiste Shatta Wale at halftime took to the field to perform. His breathtaking performance cheered the crowd. Kotoko started the second half the brightest side. Songne Yacouba came close in the 47th minute after he latched onto a Imoro Ibrahim’s cross, but his weak header only found the hands of the goalkeeper. The Stadium went ablaze in the 51st minute when Kotoko took the lead for the first time in the game. Emmanuel Gyamfi intercepted a back pass from Emmanuel Suleiman and slotted it in left bottom corner, Fatau Dawuda was left helpless. 2-1 to Kotoko Kotoko added another in the 61st minute. Songne Yacouba pounced on a loosed ball halfway the Legon Cities half. He took on two defenders and provided a cross into the goal area which was met by the unmarked Emmanuel Gyamfi at the far post, he headed the ball into an empty net. 3-1 to Kotoko. Sogne Yacouba was handful to the Legon Cities defense, the Burkinabe striker again went pass two Legon Cities defenders, but he was pulled down at the edge of the penalty box. Yellow card was shown to Fatau Dawuda for dissent. Yacouba took the resulting freekick, but the goalkeeper saw the direction of the ball and held on to it comfortably. Youngster Mathew Cudjoe made his league debut, he came on for Emmanuel Gyamfi in the 84th minute. The youngster received cheers from the crowd anytime he had a touch of the ball. Referee added 3 minutes, but there was little action from then. Referee brought proceedings to an end. Kotoko leave Accra with all 3 points, they are 3-1 winners. Sogne Yacouba was awarded man of the match for his excellent performance. Kotoko will hope to continue their impressive start to the new season when they face Berekum Chelsea at the Kumasi Sports Stadium next weekend. Legon Cities will also travel to Dawu to face Dreams FC.
