CAFCC: Wydad pip ten-man Asante Kotoko

Morocco giants Wydad AC secured an important 1-0 victory at Ghana’s Asante Kotoko in the first leg from the second preliminary round of the CAF Confederation Cup (CAFCC) on Saturday.

A very cagey encounter saw the Ghanaian powerhouse taking the game to the 22-time Botola Pro champions at the Accra Sports Stadium.

Kotoko’s first few minutes looked solid with quick attacks at the flanks that shook Wydad defence. The Porcupine Warriors came close to scoring when Inusah Adams missed the post by inches from a well floated corner kick in the 8th minute.

The visitors resorted to sitting back and taking Kotoko on quick breaks which effectively slowed down the Porcupine Warriors’ firepower. Peter Amidu Acquah made a solo effort down the left side of the but his effort went wide.

The visitors turned the heat on Kotoko soon after with lightening speed, however their effort missed the post by inches in the 34th minute mark.

Kotoko held on to their guns with Wydad enjoying an impressive share of ball possession but none found the back of the net moving into the half time break. The visitors returned for the second half with a lot of forays into Kotoko’s half and the incessant pressure paid off soon after with a corner kick.

Thembinkosi Lorch sent in the corner kick and Congolese midfielder Joseph Bakasu smashed in from the right just a minute into the second half.

Kotoko were dealt a huge blow when goalkeeper Mohamed Camara was shown a red card for handling the ball outside his area just after Wydad opened the scoring. Camara’s place was taken by Aziz Haruna Dari.

The numerical disadvantage destabilized Kotoko’s tactics with Wydad catching the record Ghana Premier League holders on the break a number of times but they could not make the most of those opportunities.

Kotoko for once thought they had equalized but their effort was flagged offside in the 76th minute mark, keeping Wydad a goal up.

The hosts, despite being a man down, made a few threatening attacks in the final minutes yet failed to find the equalizer heading into the return leg a week later in Casablanca.