Asante Kotoko suffered a narrow 1-0 home defeat to Moroccan powerhouse Wydad Casablanca in the first leg of their CAF Confederation Cup playoff tie at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.
A second-half strike from Joseph Bakasu proved decisive, giving the visitors a crucial advantage ahead of the return fixture in Casablanca.
The Porcupine Warriors started the game with purpose and composure, dominating early possession and dictating the tempo. They carved out the first real chance when Albert Amoah failed to connect with Samba Oniel’s clever flick inside the box. Wydad quickly countered, but Oniel was alert to avert the danger.
Kotoko went close again in the 31st minute when Amidu Acquah’s low drive flashed just wide of the post. However, the Moroccan side began to threaten on the break, forcing goalkeeper Mohammed Camara into a fine save to deny Lorch. The Guinean shot-stopper was called into action once more before the interval, tipping away a close-range effort from Aziz Ki to keep the scores level at halftime.
Wydad broke the deadlock barely a minute after the restart. Lorch delivered a teasing cross into the box, and Bakasu was on hand to steer it home, silencing the home crowd.
Kotoko’s hopes of mounting a comeback took a blow when goalkeeper Camara was shown a red card for pushing the referee, reducing the hosts to ten men.
Head coach Karim Zito responded with tactical changes, bringing on Aziz Dari and Emmanuel Antwi for Amidu Acquah and Walid Neymar. Antwi came close to equalising with a well-taken free kick in the 65th minute, but his effort sailed narrowly over the bar.
Despite being a man down, Kotoko continued to press for a leveller. Substitute Donzo Morifing thought he had equalised late in the game, only for his goal to be ruled out for offside.
The Porcupine Warriors survived another scare in the 85th minute when Lord Amoah cleared a goal-bound header off the line, denying Wydad a second.
Wydad held firm in the dying minutes to seal a vital 1-0 away win, setting up a tense return leg in Morocco, where a place in the group stage of the Confederation Cup will be decided.