It was an opportunity badly missed as Asante Kotoko failed to seal qualification to the Caf Confederation Cup quarter-finals on Sunday following a 1-1 home draw with Al-Hilal Omdurman of Sudan.
It was even almost nothing for the Porcupine Warriors in the matchday five fixture at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium as Songne Yacouba scored only four minutes to full-time to snatch a point after Waleed Bakhet Hamid gave the visitors a first-half lead.
With Nkana FC beating Zesco United 3-0 in the other Group C game on Sunday in an all-Zambian affair before kickoff in Kumasi, a win for Kotoko would have confirmed their place in the last eight with a match to spare.
As things now stand, the Porcupine Warriors must beat Zesco on the final matchday to qualify as CK Akonnor's outfit sit third on the table.
Below are some social media reactions after the final whistle in Kumasi:
It's an open secret that after the Anas Exposé the international referees who have come to officiate matches in Ghana have made mistakes which curiously cost the Ghanaian teams. The story isn't different at Baba Yara today. Kotoko 1 Hilal 1. #cafcc
— kwaku ahenkorah (@KwakuAhenkorah3) March 10, 2019
Great job fabulous. I think we still have our destiny in our hands. Because as it stand nw. We only need to score zesco united and we will qualify. No matter the outcome of the nkana n al hali game. Because
— Raf papa 1 (@sanirafik) March 10, 2019
Nkana = 9
Al Hali = 8
Kotoko = 7
Zesco = 4
From my calculations if we
Had the very unpleasant responsibility of objectively telling our listeners on Friday the Kotoko game as at then was 1-1.And that something needed to be done about the salt plan which these Sudanese had found out. Football is so strange and never ceases to amaze me.
— Collins Atta Poku (@PapaPoku) March 10, 2019
Dear @ZescoUnitedFC ,
— Kojo Sarkodie (@ksarktacchini) March 10, 2019
Your bitterest rival @FcNkana beat you by 3:0 to eliminate you from the #CAFCC. Please, my dear Kotoko FC will beat you in Zambia to qualify while Nkana struggles in Sudan.
Thank you.
