Asante Kotoko urged to avenge Black Stars' lose to Kenya against Kariobangi Sharks

Vengeance will be the key driving factor for Asante Kotoko when they take on Kenyan side Kariobangi Sharks in the Caf Confederation Cup on Saturday.

Some Kariobangi Sharks players and a majority for that matter will take to the pitch fighting a battle they know very little about when they take on the Ghanaian counterparts at Kasarani Stadium.

On September 8, at Kasarani, the venue for Saturday’s clash between Sharks and Kotoko, Kenya’s Harambee Stars beat Ghana by a solitary goal in the Afcon qualifiers.

Three months down the line, and with a return leg still to come in March 2019, it seems that Ghanaians can’t wait for an opportunity to avenge the painful loss to Stars, which, ironically, was inflicted on them by their own son, Nicholas Opoku, who turned the ball into his own net. 

Ghana’s High Commissioner to Kenya, Francisca Ashietey-Odunton is leading the revenge mission as she urged Kotoko to retaliate Black Stars’ defeat to Kenya when they play the Sharks.

“Let me tell you one thing, the last time a Ghanaian team came here, we lost the game. That was the Black Stars. This is the second Ghanaian team to come here in a year, and I am here to demand revenge for Ghana.

“I know we are here to win, and on Saturday, we will be there to support you,” Odunton told Kotoko players when she paid them a courtesy call in Nairobi.

Kotoko coach Charles Akonnor has been attacking Sharks, whom he belittled in his pre-match banter as ‘a small team’. The tactician, who took over in October, has promised to make Ghanaians proud when they take on the Kenyan side.

"We promise to do our best and work very hard because hard work always pays. Definitely, on Saturday, we will make our nation proud."

Sharks sailed to the next round after beating Arta Solar 9-1 on aggregate while Kotoko qualified following Cameroon’s inability to present a team.