It was a great day of football in the city of Accra. The city hosted Accra Lions and Asante Kotoko in a matchday 4 clash. The game produced all there was for one to expect in a game.
At the end of hostilities, it was the lads from Kumasi, who emerged victorious scuppering the dreams of their opponents courtesy a goal from substitute Kalo Ouattara.
Here are three things we learned from the game at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Kotoko's experience trumped Accra Lion's lack of belief
As good as the Accra Lions were at times during the game, they didn’t go for the jugular at any point. It was easy to see Ibrahim Tanko's plan, stay in the game and pounce at the right time.
The hosts weren’t bad on the day but were too inexperienced to believe they were capable to best the Porcupine Warriors and it showed in most periods of the game.
Prosper Ogum's style is slowly taking shape
Completely altering the approach a club side employs takes a lot of time. Keen to reimagine the outlook of the Kotoko team, a substantial handful of patience is required.
Four matches into Ogum's reign, the side have won one, drawn two and lost one - but the signs are there that the players are gradually coming to terms with his philosophy and tactics.
While one can't avoid the presence of quality throughout the team, embedding the philosophy into the players will at least put them on the right track.
Players such as Nurudeen and Agyapong were clearly onboard with the progressive, back-to-front style and look well-placed to improve gradually with this brand of football.
Accra Lions are a good team
I know you agree with this claim but let me indulge. The Accra club have good players and are a good team. Losing 1-0 against Kotoko doesn’t reflect that, but that was a strong performance.
The nature of their attack against the Ghanaian giants was nervy. However, Accra Lions showed just how resolute their midfield is as they picked apart Kotoko's back midfielders.
They dominated possession and asked the right questions in the middle of the park. Before the interval, they had more about 60 percent of the ball and about 50 percent by the end.
