Ashgold shot stopper, Robert Dabuo believes his side’s defeat to Kumasi Asante Kotoko in the SWAG cup is a reality check ahead of their title defence.

The former Wa All Stars safest pair of hands rallied his colleagues to be wary of stiffer opposition if they are to defend their 2014/15 FCPPL title next season. Eric Donkor’s master stroke at the death won the sports Writers cup for Kotoko at the expense of the reigning league champions.

Dabuo, who deputised for Fatau Dauda between the sticks for Bashir Hayford’s side, believes the lessons learnt from the defeat to Kotoko include an exposure of the frailties in the team ahead of the 2016 season. The Ghana youth international rued the missed chance of adding to the league trophy and the Otumfuo cup, despite playing a much-organised team. He, however, rubbished any perception of the results of the SWAG cup repeating itself when the league kicks off.

He said, “I felt very bad at not adding the SWAG cup to our trophies as a player. We are still preparing for the kick-off of the league and this match tells us we have a lot to do as a team.

“We played a very good game and our fans were happy with our performance on the day, but we still missed a great opportunity to send signals to our opponents out there. It will help us improve our performance for the league and Africa as a team.”

Robert Dabuo joined Ashgold from Wa All Stars and has blossomed into one of the safest pairs of hands on the local scene. The goalie has been a transfer target for the traditional heavyweights in the country since the arrival of Fatau Dauda from South Africa. The 2009 FIFA World youth champion manned the post for Bashir Hayford’s men in a slim 1-0 defeat to Kotoko in the SWAG cup.