Asante Kotoko was ousted from the 2022–23 CAF Champions League in the first round by the Burkinabe team Rail Club du Kadiogo.
The match concluded 1-1 on aggregate, but the defending champions of Ghana fell 3-1 on penalties.
In the rematch, Asante Kotoko was defeated 1-0 on Sunday at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
By the same score, the Porcupine Warriors defeated Benin in the first leg a week ago.
Dramane Kambou gave Kadiogo the lead in Kumasi after just 15 minutes of play, and they maintained that advantage at halftime.
In the second half, Asante Kotoko tried in vain to score an equalizer.
The two sides faced off in a penalty shootout to determine who would advance to the second preliminary round after Kadiogo held on to win 1-0.
Solomon Sarfo-Taylor, Nicholas Osei Bonsu, and Enoch Morrison all failed to convert their successive penalties for Asante Kotoko, while Yussif Mubarik converted the first penalty of the shootout.
After winning 3-1, Kadiogo advanced to the second round of the preliminary competition.
After failing to get past the opening round in Africa, Seydou Zerbo’s team will now need to focus on the 2022–23 Ghana Premier League.
The same penalty curse that Kadiogo used to defeat the Ghanaian giants in a continental match in 1979 returned to haunt Kotoko, though, so it was a case of lightning striking the same place twice.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com