Kumasi: Asante Kotoko recorded an impressive 1-0 away victory over Nigeria’s Kwara United in the first round preliminary encounter of the 2025/26 CAF Confederation Cup. Hubert Gyau’s spectacular second-half strike was enough to give the Porcupine Warriors a 5-3 aggregate win over their Nigerian counterparts. With this win, the defending MTN FA Cup champions would now face Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca in the second round of the competition.

According to Ghana News Agency, going into the second-leg encounter against Kwara United, Kotoko were under massive pressure, especially after conceding three goals at home in the first leg. The first half of the game saw Asante Kotoko defending very deep, with the home side, Kwara United, searching for the goal that would give them the advantage in the tie. Joseph Ablorh and Henry Ansu in the heart of Kotoko did well to make numerous important clearances, with goalkeeper Camara making some crucial saves.

Then stepped up Gyau who delivered a dazzling strike past Kwara goalkeeper Suraj Ayeleso in the 54th minute. After falling behind by a goal, Kwara United applied constant pressure on the Kotoko defence in an attempt to equalise. In the 75th minute, Kwara attacker Aimufua Junior nearly gave his team the equaliser but was unable to finish from close range. After that, Asante Kotoko managed the game and maintained their lead to advance to the next round.

The first leg of the second preliminary encounter between Asante Kotoko and Wydad Casablanca is slated for October 17-19, 2025. The second-leg decisive fixture, which could determine the team who moves into the group stages, would be played between October 24 and 26, 2025.