Kumasi Asante Kotoko has been crowned champions of the tier 1 of the Normalization Committee Special Competition after beating Karela United 4-1 on penalties on Sunday afternoon at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
The sides went into the match with confidence following an outstanding campaign right from the preliminary stages. Kotoko beat rivals Hearts in their semi-final to advance to the final whiles Karela beat Ashanti Gold at their own back yard.
An edgy first first-half encounter between the two sides failed to produce any goal as the Referee Latif Adaari whistle to break play.
A goal each in the second half could not separate the two sides who equally played some entertaining football on the day. First, Karela United winger Emmanuel Osei Baffour opened the scoring for his side before Abdul Fatawu Safiu converted a penalty to restore parity for the Porcupine Warriors.
With nothing to separate the two sides, the match traveled into the penalties at the end of regulation time. The Reds determined to go to Africa next season, stepped up and converted 4 of their kicks, three more than the Anyinase based side to ensure they emerged as champions.
By virtue of the victory, the Kumasi based side will have the opportunity of representing Ghana in the next edition of the CAF Champions League.