Asante Kotoko 2 Hearts of Oak 0

Kumasi Asante Kotoko regained the bragging rights over archrivals Hearts of Oak after beating them 2-0 in the first leg of the �Super Clash� match at the Babayara Sports Stadium on Monday afternoon. The game which is used to renew the rivalry between the two teams every year saw more than 35,000 spectators troop to the Babayara Sports Stadium to witness the mouth watering game between the two most glamorous clubs in the country. It took Ivorian import Ahmed Toure to open the scoring for the Porcupine Warriors in the 42nd minute with a powerful header to register his side�s first goal. Toure outmaneuvered Hearts defender Vincent Atinga to head home from six yards to the delight of the home fans following a cross from right-back Rahim Ayew . Hearts of Oak coach Herbert Addo made a quick change back from recess as he brought in pacy winger Kwame Kizito for Hamza Mohammed to beef up his attack. The change however seemed not to have made a significant impact in the team as Kotoko kept on controlling the pace of the game. A clumsy challenge from Hearts midfielder Leonard Tawiah on Asante Kotoko winger Larbi Koomson saw the former being sent off after receiving his second yellow card of the day. Asante Kotoko head coach Mas-Ud Didi Dramani demonstrated his technical abilities when he brought on trio Latif Amadu, Mohammed Abdulai Dauda and good old Stephen Oduro for Ahmed Toure, Obed Owusu and Frank Sarfo Gyamfi respectively. A first touch from Stephen Oduro saw him lay a nice through ball to Mohammed Abdulai Dauda who perfect placed the ball past Hearts goalkeeper Tetteh Lugard in post to register the second goal for the home side after 77 minutes. The woes continued for Herbert Addo�s charges when they were reduced to nine men after Ivorian defender Robin Gnagne got sent off in the 82nd minute for a deliberate challenge on Kotoko striker Latif Amadu. Kotoko could have increased their tally in the dying embers of the game but failed to utilize the numerous opportunities that came their way. After an exhaustible 90+4 minutes, center referee Samuel Sukar blew his whistle to bring proceedings to an end as Kotoko emerge victors of the day. The second leg of the titanic clash will take place at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday October 12.