Asante Kotoko head coach Eric Tinkler was in an upbeat mood after his side beat Hearts of Oak 4-1 on penalties to win the 2026 Democracy Cup, following a goalless draw at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi on Friday.
Tinkler felt his team controlled large stretches of the game against a Hearts side he described as tactically demanding, even if the Porcupine Warriors were unable to turn that control into goals.
I’m very pleased with the performance,” Tinkler said. “I thought for a large majority of the game we had the ascendancy. I thought the guys did exceptionally well: our pressing strategy, our tactical discipline. They’re not an easy team, playing in their 4-3-3 with a lot of rotation, but I thought we dealt with them really, really well.”
The Kotoko coach pointed to a first-half moment he felt should have opened the scoring, referencing a chance he did not believe was offside.
We should’ve been 1-0 up at halftime, you know?” he said. “In the second half, again, we had the better chances.” So proud of the boys, but still work in progress. Our final third, first half, I think we had more than 20 box entries, but we didn’t capitalise on that.” Eric Tinkler, Asante Kotoko Head Coach
Tinkler was candid about the gap between territory and end product, identifying final-third efficiency as the priority for his side heading into the new Ghana Premier League season.
We need to work on that,” he said. “We created chances, but we need to put it in the back of the net.”
Democracy Cup
Third edition of the fixture, organised by the Parliament of Ghana to mark 32 years of the Fourth Republic
Kotoko won the inaugural 2024 edition 2-1; Hearts of Oak won the 2025 edition, setting up a decisive third meeting
The winners earn a friendly against English Premier League side Sunderland
Asked about the club’s decision to bring back experienced goalkeeper Ibrahim Danlad ahead of the new season, Tinkler pointed to his reliance on local knowledge as a coach still adapting to Ghana football.
I didn’t know Ghana football that well,” he said. “I heard the first-choice goalkeeper had left the club, and we were desperate to bring someone in with a lot of experience.”
Tinkler credited the club’s technical staff for identifying Danlad, who returned to Kotoko this transfer window after two years with Ethiopian side Ethiopia Coffee. “Hamza spoke about Ibrahim and said that he was available,” Tinkler said.
I think, you know, me as a foreigner coming into Ghana, I need to listen to the Ghanaians. They’re going to teach me a lot more about Ghana football than what I’m going to know. So I obviously trusted the technical staff, and they informed us about bringing him in, and yeah, he’s done well.”
The shootout win over their fiercest rivals gives Tinkler early momentum as he prepares his rebuilt Kotoko squad, which has seen significant turnover in the goalkeeping department and elsewhere, for the start of the 2026/27 Ghana Premier League campaign.