Asante Kotoko SC coach, Mariano Barreto was marveled at Augustine Okrah’s quality after he first chanced on the left-footed attacking midfielder at team’s training grounds in Adako Jachie near Ejisu.
According to reports from the team’s training, Okrah’s ability and experience coupled with his special techniques and how he effortlessly made the game look so simple was what impressed him about the player the most and asked why Abdul Gazale and Johnson Smith why the players was not part of the team’s first team training.
“I am happy to have such a talent around”, a happy Mariano Barreto was told his assistant coach after Augustine Okrah exceeded his expectations during his first day at the office.
The former Black Stars coach was short of words after the former Al Merrikh man displayed his capabilities and how useful he could be to the team’s prog and their charge to win the Premier League at the end of the season.
Okrah was a forgotten player at Kotoko under the watch of coach Abdul Gazale and Johnson Smith and was rarely seen at the team’s training when preparing for games let alone in match-day squad in the first round of the season.
After his performance at training grounds, Barreto was seen encouraging the player to continue to play beyond his strength and give his all in every training section and games.
Now, fans of Asante Kotoko SC have begun to see the old Okrah they knew before under the Portuguese gaffer and is one of the most important players in the Porcupine Warriors set up at the moment.
The attacking midfielder who plays on the left-wing for Asante Kotoko, has been involved in all the three games the club has played under the new coach, Barreto, and has capped off his sizzling performances with two assists from those three games.
Not just his assists, the 27-year-old former Ghana goal King and best player has rediscovered his form and has started lightening up the Ghana Premier League with eye-catching displays for the Kumasi-based Ghanaian giants.
Okrah in his previous campaigns was a defenders nightmare and carried on from the Ghana Premier League league to showcase his talent in Africa where he played in a Champions League semi-final in 2015 for Sudanese side Al Merrikh who were beaten by the eventual winners TP Mazembe 4-2 on aggregate.
Now Okrah looks to have found his mojo back and fans have started showing him love as he’s expected to produce consistent performance to help the Porcupine Warriors win the coveted and giant Ghana Premier League title at the end of the season.
Kotoko have won two, draw one, and have scored eight goals in three games since the arrival of the Portuguese, Mariano Barreto who’s a former Black Stars and Meteors coach.
