Preview: Medeama vs Kotoko
by Communication Department
Our Ghana Premier League matchday 28 fixture takes us to Tarkwa on Saturday afternoon, where we play the defending league champions Medeama SC at Akoon Park.
After Sunday’s important victory over Samartex, the Porcupine Warriors will be looking to clinch our first 3 points on the road for the first time this year against a Medeama side that is on form at home in the second round of the league.
Tarkwa has been a happy hunting town for us recently, winning twice and drawing once in our last 3 visits since our last defeat back in January 2020. However, Medeama are unbeaten at their grounds in their last 10 Premier League games.
Successive wins have been in short supply for us since the start of the second half of the league, but we will be aiming to string together back to back victories at Tarkwa on Saturday after a series of tactical and strategic training sessions during the week.
Although Medeama’s attack has not been sharp since the exit marksman, Jonathan Sowah, Prosper Narteh Ogum and his backroom staff will look to keep sight on the Medeama set-up, which seems to have an all-round team since the arrival of Serbian trainer Nebojsa Kapor.
But after racking up a 1-0 victory in the first round, we are going to Tarkwa full of belief and confidence as we aim to do a double over Medeama and close in on the top 4 teams.
Currently, we are 5 points off the top 4 and 3 points behind 8th placed Medeama. Head coach Prosper Narteh Ogum has stressed the need to focus and discipline on each match without any distraction.
While we will have a good team to face and match up Medeama this weekend, our Warriors will need to be ruthless to deal with the threat from Medeama’s recent front line of Derrick Fordjour, Tetteh Bernardinho, and Dauoda Sidibe.
■ — TEAM NEWS
• Richmond Lamptey and left-back John Tedeku will still be out through injury; they are yet to start field training.
• Isaac Oppong missed the last game due to accumulated yellow cards but is still doubtful for the weekend game due to illness.
• Ibrahim Danlad, Nurudeen Yussif Mohammed, and Peter Amidu Acquah reported for our last training session but couldn’t train with the team. All three players will be assessed by the medical team.
• Midfielder Michael Kyei Dwamena is still on the road to full fitness. He’s been in individual training sessions and will be unavailable.
• Sherif Mohammed (midfielder) will be out after undergoing successful surgery.
■ — MATCH OFFICIALS
Class 1 referee Laud Nettey will be in charge of Saturday’s game against Medeama.
• Referee: Laud Nettey
• Assistant referees: Alhassan Abdul Rauf and Pascal Mawusi
• Fourth referee:Maxwell Owusu
• Match commissioner: Sowah Ghartey
■ — MATCH DETAILS
• Date: Saturday, April 27, 2024
• Venue: Akoon Park, Tarkwa
• Kick-off: 3:00 p.m.
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