The legendary Lovin Cee, who emceed the clash between the two most glamorous clubs in the country took time to express his shock at Kelvin Osei Asibey’s tackle on the red-hot Albert Amoah midway through the first half. The emcee dedicated a minute to praise Asibey’s challenge. It shows how great it was.
Baba Yahaya released Albert Amoah through on goal against Benjamin Asare. Kelvin Osei Asibey was two yards behind the prolific Amoah but he was able to win the ball neatly from the toes of the former Kwaebibirem striker. Asibey went to the floor, slid and won the ball perfectly without touching Amoah.
This led to the opposition fans clapping for the tackle.
It will always be difficult for any opposing player to get a round of applause from opposite fans in the Super Clash. Kotoko fans clapped for Asibey’s challenge on Amoah.
Kelvin Osei Asibey joined Accra Hearts of Oak from Techiman Eleven Wonders in July 2023, and he has quickly established himself as the leader of the Phobia’s back line.
Blessed with pace, aggression, power, stamina, energy and passing, the 23-year-old has wowed fans with his uncommon defensive abilities.
The battle we were expecting at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium was between Asante Kotoko’s top scorer, Albert Amoah, and Phobia’s dependable defender, Asibey, who lived up to the expectations.
The young centre-back defined composure with proper examples as he never panicked anytime meeting any of Kotoko’s forwards.
The Bantama boy in the second half made a crucial block which prevented Kotoko from taking the lead. The interception was so necessary because Benjamin Asare would have had no chance to save the ball.
Hearts of Oak was mostly under pressure throughout the whole game but Osei Asibey made sure that Asare was not going to be troubled.
Then came his moment of undoing. It all started with less than ten seconds to end the game. Giant midfielder Salim Adams disastrously lost the ball on the left-hand side of the middle of the park.
Kotoko’s skipper Justice Blay sent a long ball to Albert Amoah. Osei Asibey outpaced him but failed to communicate well with his goalkeeper. He decided to clear the ball through a scissor kick, which he miskicked as Amoah took advantage and slotted in cooly for the home team.
It was the last kick of the game. Asante Kotoko jubilated fantastically while the Phobia entourage felt so sorry for their star boy.
After the game, Asante Kotoko’s head coach, Prosper Ogum, praised Kelvin Osei Asibey for his talent but advised him to work on his confidence level because he saw him to be overconfident.
Overconfidence is one of the biggest killers in life. One might think he has what it takes to execute any task easier, so he doesn’t care about his actions and decisions.
Sunday’s error was not the first time Asibey has let Phobia down against the Porcupine Warriors. Last season at the same venue in Kotoko’s 3-2 win against Hearts of Oak, the Porcupine Warriors were leading 2-1. Hearts of Oak were pressing for an equaliser; Asibey, after having a good game, made a calamitous mistake by gifting the ball to Mukwala, who had the easiest chance of beating Ayi and kicking the ball into an empty net.
In Kotoko’s triumph in the Democracy Cup, Asibey was robbed of the ball leading to a goal for Kotoko. Instead of releasing the ball to his mate, he kept it for a long time and was pressed by the Kotoko attacker and subsequently won the ball from the defender.
These are mistakes that can never be forgotten and forgiven as they are very preventable.
The Managing Director of Accra Hearts of Oak, Dalali Anku-Adiamah, suggested that the Black Stars Technical team must keep a closer eye on Asibey because he sees him as a national asset.
The truth is Kelvin Osei Asibey has what it takes to play for Ghana, but it is about time the club works on his confidence. Phobia must psychologically assist Asibey to do things normally before he can be trusted for a position in the national team.
