This season, the objective for Kotoko was to wrestle the league back from their bitter rivals, Hearts of Oak, who won what was their first league triumph in over a decade but who cares about that the most, Kotoko.
The numerous stakeholders were just not happy that the coved trophy had swapped cities from Kumasi to Accra, with that in mind, drastic changes needed to be made. They had to let go of Portuguese trainer Mariano Barreto for the swift appointment of coach, Dr. Prosper Ogum Narteh, whose prior season with WAFA SC was somewhat over the top, finishing 3rd behind Hearts and his new employers, Kotoko.
The board and management dug from near and wide to sign a plethora of players for the new coach of which one would have thought they needed time to settle, assimilate and implement his ideas on the field but against all odds, they hit the ground running.
His appointment certainly paid dividends over the stretch, his first 10 games saw him pitch 7 wins, two draws and a loss to King Faisal but that notwithstanding their soldiered on with the league ambition in mind.
The Porcupine Warriors picked 17 wins, drew 9, and lost 5 which came against King Faisal, Elmina Sharks, Legon Cities, RTU, and Berekum Chelsea sides you wouldn’t have expected them to lose against but that is the game of football but looking on the bright side they were crowned winners after drawing AshGold with 3 games to spare.
One sterling thing about Proper Ogum Narteh’s side was their bravery in picking an important victory away from home, it was no surprise, they picked 27 points from 15 games at grounds no one would envisage, beating Michael Osei’s Bibiani Goldstars at the Duns Park, a giant victory against former Ghana Premier League champions, Aduana Stars, their first in13-years at Dormaa, winning against WAFA SC, his former side, capping it off by breaking an over 8-year jinx at Tarkwa against Medeama SC.
In 31 games, they plundered in 43 goals of which 20 came from the boots of Cameroonian import, Frank E. Mbella breaking a 10-year-old record held by former goal machine, Eric Bekoe.
Proper Ogun Narteh will clearly be a happy man after leading his Porcupine family to victory itching his name alongside, Bashiru Hayford, Maxwell Konadu, and Masud Didi Dramani, who all did in their first season.
