Kotoko's uninspiring performance in Sunday's 0-1 loss to Heart of Lions did not surprise anyone.

If you clipped up videos from previous matches against Legon Cities and Basake Holy Stars, you would find traces of Sunday's poor performance. Against Lions, Kotoko pressed with the coordination of a six-year-old. But their pressing and struggles in sustaining attacks were not the only problems.

At full-time, fans called out Kotoko coach Prosper Ogum about the team's lack of goals.

If you did not know better, you would dismiss their concerns as they typical, knee-jerk reactions to a ;loss. But a closer look at the numbers suggest they may be right.

Michael Kyei's goal against Berekum Chelsea on September 29 is the only goal scored for Kotoko by a player other than Albert Amoah in the last six match days.

Since then, Kotoko has scored six goals in six matches.

To put matters into context, own goal (1) has contributed as many goals as the next highest scorers after Amoah; Michael Kyei (1), and Emmanuel Antwi (1) respectively.

In his post-match comments, coach Prosper Ogum blamed Kotoko's performance on fatigue. That may explain the lack of intensity and inability to sustain pressing schemes. The same affects the team's momentum.

So what has he done about it? Has he considered rotating the squad to freshen things up?
No. In the past five matches, Ogum has drawn from the same pool of fifteen players for matches.

Why is he fielding the same players when Kotoko has thirty-seven registered players - thirty-three outfield players and four goalkeepers?

Kotoko coach Prosper Narteh Ogum

Does he not trust them? Whatever his answers are, they will not shield Ogum from blame.

In the past month, his team has scored more goals than they have at any point this season (five). But that is also because they have played more matches (six) than they previously did. Even in the period when they have scored the most goals, it is still one fewer than the matches they have played (six).

In all, they have scored fewer goals (eight) than matches played (nine).

That is what the fans are asking Ogum to fix and it is hard to disagree with. Kotoko may have had a decent start to the season, but in the past month, they have been plunged into a sticky wicket.
Ogum needs to turn the corner before he gets turned over.

Bashir is brilliant!

If ever there was an excellent personification for the axiom ''class is permanent, but form is temporary'', it would be Bashir Hayford.

On Sunday, the teacher-turned-coach served a reminder of his standing in the game.
After fifteen minutes, it was evident that Lions needed to match Kotoko's numbers in the middle.

Hearts of Lions captain Ebenezer Abban appears to have won this aerial tussle for the ball

To fix that, Hayford pulled an old trick from the hat.

He switched to a rest defense of three center backs when building up in a move that gave him creative freedom on the left wing. That allowed Mustapha Yakubu to stay central when out of possession, clogging up the central areas to give Lions the numeral advantage. Consequently, the gaps between his players became narrow, which meant they had less ground to cover whenever they lost the ball.

We have seen this before. When Lions beat Hearts of Oak 2-0 in Kpando, it was the same tweak with different variables; Nana Kwame Oppong, Ishmael Addo, and the introduction of Kwesi Pong.

It was effective for fifteen minutes against Hearts of Oak and while Lions have used it sparingly, Hayford still deserves credit for his ingenuity.

When Dr. Randy Abbey decided to hire Bashir Hayford in December last year, Heart of Lions was without a win in 14 league matches. They had lost six matches and recorded eight draws. Three months later (not counting the AFCON 2023 and Accra 2023 African Games breaks) he secured Premier League safety by winning 37 of the 45 available points.

Bashir Hayford (left) in a hearty chat with Prosper Ogum before unleashing hell on his Kotoko team

Sunday's win makes Lions the fifth best-performing team away from home in the league, having amassed six points. Overall, they are in seventh place with 14 points.

Above all else, it is Hayford's ''love affair'' with Kotoko that is interesting. Since the infamous ''Yenbo bio'' in 2004, Hayford has made a habit of beating Asante Kotoko.

In 2024 alone, he has beaten Kotoko twice in the league. The first, in February, was at the re-opening of the Kpando Sports Stadium. Before this year, he defeated the Porcupine Warriors with Ashantigold (and went on to win his second league title) and with Medeama too.

As he once said, "As for Kotoko, I've been coaching other teams to meet them, and I don't think they've ever been a problem for me."