Kumasi Asante Kotoko head coach Abdul Karim Zito has attributed his side’s underwhelming showing in the GHALCA Top 4 competition to a congested fixture schedule, after guiding the Porcupine Warriors to a 1-0 win over Bibiani Gold Stars in the Champion of Champions Cup.
A close-range finish from new signing Musa Hamzata at Dun’s Park in Bibiani was enough to secure the trophy for Kotoko and hand them a measure of revenge after Gold Stars had beaten them 2-1 in the Top 4 earlier this month.
Despite their struggles in that tournament, where Kotoko failed to win a single match, Zito believes the team was simply stretched too thin after back-to-back campaigns in the Toyota Cup in South Africa and the President’s Cup.
“The GHALCA Top 4, the timing was bad…so I wasn’t expecting something too good from my boys,” Zito told TV3 after the match.
The win marks Zito’s second major trophy since returning to take charge of Kotoko and comes just days before the start of the new Ghana Premier League season.
Reflecting on his side’s improvement, he noted: “The last match we played against Accra Hearts of Oak, the second half, you could see that my boys were now picking, so we carried that into this game.”
Kotoko will hope the victory is a sign of things to come as they prepare to kick off their 2025/26 league campaign against Berekum Chelsea on S
