Asante Kotoko coach Charles Kwabla Akunor has praised midfielder Umar Bashiru for bringing stability to his side in their 2-1 win over Kariobangi Sharks.
The Porcupine Warriors reach the play offs of the competition after a hard fought victory on Saturday.
Coach C.K Akunor brought on Umar Bashiru in the second half when the Kenyans looked to be in control of the game but the ex-WAFA midfielder came on to stabilize his side.
“We were not too exciting today, I must admit,” Akonnor said. “The opponent really did well. We struggled a bit and were not compact enough in the midfield."
"Umar Basiru gave us the stability we needed when he came in. We were leading at that time and so the idea was to contain the pressure and if the opportunity comes for us to score, we score.”
“It’s a problem that we need to work on. If we are able to strengthen the team from within and improve the way we play from the middle, I think it will solve a lot of problems for us.”
“Thank God we have somebody like Umar. Anytime he comes in, he is able to stabilize things for us and I think we need that stability. Whether he will start or not, there is a competition. There is also Kwame Bonsu, who is working so hard to be in the team. We look forward to seeing everybody progress.”