GHANA FA CUP - NEWS

  

Medeama 2-1 Kotoko: Oppong hands the Yellow Mauves a second major title

The Yellow and Mauves are set to represent Ghana in the 2016 Caf Confederations Cup after beating the Porcupine Warriors in a repeat of the 2013 final

Medeama picked their second silverware in three years after beating Asante Kotoko 2-1 in the final of the 2015 FA Cup at the Sekondi-Essipong Stadium on Sunday.

Goals from Kwesi Donsu and Bismark Oppong, with an Amed Toure strike in between, ensured the Yellow and Mauves ended the day the happier side after a rather dominant display .

The Porcupine Warriors lost to the Yellow and Mauves in the final of the 2013 edition courtesy a solitary Theophilus Anobaah strike, and were as much on a revenge mission on Sunday afternoon.

Medeama, on the other hand, had to play without their top frontman Nathaniel Asamoah, scorer of 18 league goals this season, who joined Moroccan side Raja Casablanca on Wednesday.

It was not until the 5 th minute before the first real chance of the game surfaced, when Medeama’s Benjamin Bature drew an early save from goalkeeper Joseph Addo after an early spell of possession.

Toure then blasted wide on 15 minutes after being put through one-on-one with just Medeama goalkeeper Muntari Tagoe to beat, only to see referee Joseph Lamptey come to his rescue with an offside call.

Obed Owusu was the next to try his luck, testing Tagoe from a powerful shot 19 yards out, after rounding his marker following a neat pass from the right flank in the 26 th minute.

Kwesi Donsu , however, would not be denied in the 34 th minute. The danger man, who had scored four times in his side’s past two cup games, neatly controlled a Jacob Appau cross from the right after finding acres of space in the 18-yard box, before firing a low shot to the left of Addo to open the scoring.

The goal advantage lasted only four minutes, as Amed Toure rose high unchallenged to head home a cross delivered by Eric Donkor.

Medeama then had a glorious opportunity to restore their lead a minute into the second half, but Eric Kwadwo saw his strike hit the upright, after being set up by Bature.

Buoyed by their positive start to the second half, Medeama kept pilling on the pressure, Appau and Bature both trying unsuccessfully with separate strikes from range.

Realising his side had been on the back-foot, coach David Duncan sent on Richard Mpong for Frank Sarfo-Gyamfi.

The substitution almost paid off immediately when Toure raced clear on goal after beating his marker but saw his feeble strike roll agonisingly wide.

Bismark Oppong would, however, not miss the opportunity to be the called a ‘super sub’ after effortlessly chipping over goalkeeper Addo few seconds after he was thrown into the fray, following a neat through-ball from enterprising Bature in the 63 rd minute.

Kotoko almost did the double with another quick reply but Mpong saw his headed effort ruled out for a challenge on Addo, much to the dismay of the Porcupine Warriors’ bench.

It was all a ding-dong affair afterwards, but the Tarwka-based side held on to their lead to record a famous victory over a Kotoko side that had not lost in their past five league games before Sunday’s clash.

Isaac Cofie joins Carpi FC on loan

The 24-year-old has joined the newly promoted Serie A side on a season-long loan deal

Ghana midfielder Isaac Cofie has moved to Carpi FC from Genoa for the 2015/2016 season.

The deal is a season-long loan with an option to make it permanent at the end of the season.

The former Chievo Verona midfielder joined The Whites-and-Reds on Monday after passing medical.

He will have his first training with the Serie A debutants on Tuesday after spending his entire pre-season at Genoa.

Cofie was on the radar of several teams in Europe but opted for Fabrizio Castori’s side who recently got promoted to the Italian top-flight after placing first in the 2014/2015 Serie B season.

The 24-year-old is guaranteed of consistent game times at Carpi, something he rarely got at Genoa last season.

This happens to be his sixth club in Italy after playing for Genoa, Torino, Piacenza, Sassuolo and Chievo.

Carpi have started their Serie A campaign on a poor note after losing their first two matches to Sampdoria and Inter Milan.

They will travel to Palermo on September 13 for their next Serie A assignment.

The team, which is based in Carpi in the province of Modena, have secured three promotions in four seasons.

Just two seasons ago, they got promoted from the third tier to the second tier, and followed up with an instant Serie A promotion.