{"id":880706,"date":"2025-12-26T00:22:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T06:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/26\/mtn-fa-cup-2025-2026-late-amidu-strike-sends-kotoko-through-to-next-round\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T00:22:05","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T06:22:05","slug":"mtn-fa-cup-2025-2026-late-amidu-strike-sends-kotoko-through-to-next-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/26\/mtn-fa-cup-2025-2026-late-amidu-strike-sends-kotoko-through-to-next-round\/","title":{"rendered":"MTN FA CUP 2025\/2026: Late Amidu strike sends Kotoko through to next round"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article-text\">\n<p>Lower-division side Future Stars FC came within 18 minutes of producing a stunning upset before Asante Kotoko mounted a dramatic late comeback to win their FA Cup tie in Ejisu.<\/p>\n<p>The match, expected to be a routine outing for the defending champions, took an early twist when the home side struck first, putting Kotoko under immediate pressure and unsettling the visitors\u2019 rhythm.<\/p>\n<p>Kotoko head coach Abdul Karim Zito responded with several second-half changes as his side pushed relentlessly for an equaliser. Their persistence eventually paid off in the 72nd minute when Hubert Gyau latched onto a loose ball and fired home to bring the Porcupine Warriors level.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u2014 Asante Kotoko SC &#8211; 2X CAF CL Winners (@AsanteKotoko_SC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AsanteKotoko_SC\/status\/1998823396306489574?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 10, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>With the game seemingly headed for penalties, Kotoko delivered a decisive blow deep into stoppage time. An unmarked Peter Amidu pounced from close range, smashing the ball past the Future Stars goalkeeper at the near post to complete the turnaround and seal a dramatic escape for the champions.<\/p>\n<p>The victory keeps Kotoko\u2019s title defense alive as they look to replicate last season\u2019s fairytale run, which culminated in their triumph over Golden Kicks in the final.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DISCLAIMER: <\/strong>The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DISCLAIMER: <\/strong>The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> Daniel Koranteng<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myjoyonline.com\/mtn-fa-cup-2025-2026-late-amidu-strike-sends-kotoko-through-to-next-round\/\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lower-division side Future Stars FC came within 18 minutes of producing a stunning upset before Asante Kotoko mounted a dramatic late comeback to win their FA Cup tie in Ejisu. The match, expected to be a routine outing for the defending champions, took an early twist when the home side struck first, putting Kotoko under<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":880707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[147048,1384],"tags":[147047,6930],"class_list":{"0":"post-880706","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-amidu","8":"category-strike","9":"tag-amidu","10":"tag-strike"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=880706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/880707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=880706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=880706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=880706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}