Asante Kotoko suffered a 1-0 defeat to Karela United in a keenly contested Ghana Premier League Matchday 25 encounter at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale on Sunday, March 8.
The Porcupine Warriors, who traveled up north aiming to bounce back from recent inconsistencies, found themselves undone by a first-half strike by Malik Abubakari.
The decisive moment arrived in the 43rd minute when Abubakari latched onto a well-worked move to slot home past goalkeeper Mohamed Camara, sending the home fans into raptures.
The goal came a couple of minutes after centre-back Henry Ansu was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge, reducing the visitors to 10 men.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Kotoko pushed for an equalizer in the second half.
Substitute Sulley Kassim came close in the 87th minute, forcing a crucial save from the Karela shot-stopper to preserve the lead.
The Porcupines’ inability to convert pressure into goals proved costly as Karela held firm to secure all three points.
The win takes Karela United to sixth place on the standings ahead of their away game against Berekum Chelsea.
Asante Kotoko will, on the other hand, return home to welcome regional rivals Nations FC on Matchday 26.
They are currently fifth on the log.
But they will be without goalkeeper Mohamed Camara, who had to be given a red card for charging on the referee immediately after the game.
The Man of the Match in Kotoko’s last game against Vision FC is said to have gone to question some of the decisions of referee.
