‘Asante Kotoko suffering from Hearts loss hangover’- Opoku Nti

Asante Kotoko are yet to recover from their defeat to Accra Hearts of Oak, club legend Samuel Opoku Nti has diagnosed.

The former Asante Kotoko attacker opines that the post-match impact of losing to a bitterest rival has hit the Porcupine Warriors, who have labored through games since losing to Hearts of Oak.

The two sides clashed in Ghana’s biggest club game in Accra 2 weeks ago. Kotoko lost by the odd goal courtesy a second half strike by Hearts attacker Daniel Afriyie Barnieh. The defeat also handed the victors the advantage in the race for the GPL title.

Since then Kotoko has struggled for form; drawing at home to relegation threatened King Faisal while riding their luck to eliminate lower tier side Asokwa Deportivo from the FA Cup.

Speaking on the club’s recent performances in an interview with Silver FM, Samuel Opoku Nti noted that, the club has been dealt a huge psychological blow following the loss to Hearts.

He linked it to his playing days for the Porcupine Warriors and how they overcame such a situation.

“Whichever team loses when Asante Kotoko meets Hearts of Oak, normally suffers a hangover. This is because they put their all into that Hearts vs Kotoko match. So if they lose, it totally discourages them and cause them to be disinterested in subsequent games, ” Opoku Nti said.

“It takes quite some time before full recovery is made. Most times recovering from such experiences depends heavily on the players.

“During my time in 1983, we lost 4-3 to Hearts of Oak, but in our next match which was in Africa, we won 3-0 to qualify.

“So there are after effects in Kotoko vs Hearts matches and whoever loses suffers from hangover,” Opoku Nti concluded.