Asante Kotoko recorded a comfortable 3-0 win over Ghana's U23 team at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday to wrap up preparations for their CAF Confederation Cup campaign.
Captain Amos Frimpong scored a brace and experienced midfielder Jordan Opoku was on target.
The skipper broke the deadlock of the cagey encounter in the 45th minute, soaring above everyone in the Meteors penalty box to head home Maxwell Baakoh’s corner kick.
The goal capped an impressive first-half performance by the Porcupines Warriors, who hitherto spurned two chances aside Felix Annan’s eye-catching diving save to Bright Andoh’s strike towards the roof of the net.
Asante Kotoko started the second half as they left off the first, pinning the Meteors deep into their defensive shelves while effectively dealing with their offensive threats.
Black Meteors coach Ibrahim Tanko introduced Asante Kotoko’s Douglas Owusu Ansah into the game as a quick fix, and Charles Kwablan Akonnor responded with the introduction of Emmanuel Gyamfi.
The speedster registered his presence with a yellow card but made up for the blunder with a quick run down the right wing in the 75th minute, which he finished with a cutback pass that was connected into the bottom corner by Jordan Opoku.
Felix Annan won the applauds of the spectators in the 77th minute by fearlessly using his body to block Bright Enchil’s close-range thunder strike, and a swift counter-attack from the right wing was illegally halted with Ibrahim Yaro fouling Emmanuel Gyamfi inside the box after the winger had rounded him up.
Amos Frimpong elected himself for the kick and sent the ball into the left bottom corner past the stretching Kwame Baah.
The game, as well as the result, were the second for the Porcupine Warriors at the Accra venue this week, following the 3-0 whipping of Inter Allies in the side’s penultimate friendly last Wednesday.
The Kumasi-based club is in Aburi preparing for the first leg of the Confederation Cup's second preliminary round match against Kariobangi Sharks in Kenya on Saturday, having earned a walkover in the first round.
The Black Meteors thus came as the last opponent in a string of friendly games that included the Black Stars, WAFA and Medeama.