The Porcupine Warriors proved inadequate to the task in their league tie against the Nduom Boys on Friday
Asante Kotoko suffered their third defeat of the season in a 1-0 away loss to Elmina Sharks in the Ghana Premier League on Friday.
Mustapha Alhaji’s second half effort denied the Porcupine Warriors any points from the fixture at the Nduom Sports Stadium in Elmina.
The result leaves Kotoko sixth on the league table, the club having missed a chance to go past arch-rivals Hearts of Oak with whom they settled for a 0-0 draw on Sunday.
Sharks, who came into the game on the back of three straight defeats, on the other hand, have overtaken Legon Cities to claim the 13th spot.
Porcupines coach Abdul Gazale kept faith with striker Kwame Opoku despite the attacker’s costly missed penalty in Sunday’s showdown with Hearts. Brazilian playmaker Fabio Gama Dos Santos was also in the line-up.
In the early moments of the game, Emmanuel Sarkodie’s shot from the edge of the box flew over the bar, similar to Gama’s 14th minute attempt.
In the 22nd minute, Opoku almost broke the deadlock when he intercepted a back pass but after rounding the goalkeeper, his goal-bound shot was timely cleared off the line.
Ten minutes after the interval, the hosts registered their crucial goal against the run of play as Alhaji converted to make it 1-0.
Kotoko almost hit back four minutes later but Abdul Ganiyu’s header, having connected to Imoro Ibrahim’s inswinger, just flew wide of the crossbar.
Bernard Boateng attempted to double Sharks’ lead in the 80th minute after receiving a pass on the edge of the box, but his shot went off target.
After a few more wasted half-chances, the referee brought the game to an end after four additional minutes of play.
Kotoko, who are on a quest for a 24th league title, will hope to bounce back when they take on King Faisal in their next game, this time around, at home at the Accra Sports Stadium. They won the last of their trophies in 2014.
Sharks will likely target a second win on the bounce as they face Ebusua Dwarfs in their next game.