Hearts will find it tough against Kotoko — Sunday

Former coach and skipper of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, Ibrahim Sunday, has described the clash between Accra Hearts of Oak and Kotoko at the Accra Sports stadium on Monday as very dicey which can go either way.

“Currently, Hearts are in top shape, so on paper, it could be said that they have the edge over Kotoko, but matches involving the two sides defy form, so it is not easy to predict the outcome of the match until it comes to an end,” Ibrahim Sunday, who was the skipper of Kotoko when they won their first silverware in Africa in 1971, told Daily Graphic during an interview in Accra last Thursday.

To him, it was the team which was more determined in such encounters that wins the match and, therefore, dismissed the fact that Hearts could beat Kotoko on Monday because of their current form.

Recalling his days when he played active football, Sunday who also coached Kotoko to win their second silverware in 1982 said anytime Kotoko clashed with Hearts, players of both teams played beautifully to make the fans happy, “This was because each team was not only well composed and focused, but also played for the fans and, therefore, gave good football to please them”.

Sunday also indicated that notwithstanding the current form of Kotoko, they might return to Kumasi with victory, explaining that Hearts had not beaten Kotoko at the Accra Sports stadium since 2010.

“I know many fans of Hearts will fill the stadium in their numbers to root for their idol club, but when the going gets tough, they may turn against them, and that will be an advantage to Kotoko, so the match will not be easy,” he noted.