To say Asante Kotoko have had an underwhelming 2023/24 Ghana Premier League season would be quite the understatement.

After a so-so campaign last term, when they finished fourth with 52 points in what proved a failed bid to defend their crown, the hope was that Kotoko would bounce back and find their feet again under the returning Dr. Prosper Narteh Ogum, the head coach who departed just after delivering their last league title.

They are on course to hit that same total (and not a point more) this time, but even if they do, it would likely not end them much higher than mid-table; at best, they would finish in the top half's lower half. 

As poor as that sounds, it will be much better than finishing in and around the relegation zone, where Kotoko have spent more weeks this season than their fans would like. It has been a season that, save for a brief period prior to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) break when Kotoko found themselves in loftier company, they've been chasing shadows, fighting fires, and fearing the worst.

So bad have things been that a mid-season ‘crisis’ meeting was held with the club's Owner and Life Patron, the Asantehene, a few weeks ago, during which the monarch even hinted at the possibility — however far-fetched — of dissolving the club to avert the threat and humiliation of relegation, if push came to shove.

That is unlikely to happen, however as relegation is only a mathematical likelihood now and a realistic concern no more. That royal conference sparked something of a resurgence; Kotoko have lost just one game since, winning three of five. 

And the most recent result, a 2-0 defeat handed to arch-rivals Accra Hearts of Oak last Sunday, would be particularly satisfying — and that isn't just because it nudged Kotoko closer to safety and a struggling Hearts team farther from same. Most significantly, it is the accomplishment the victory brought: a rare league double over Hearts.

The last occurrence is so distant a memory that even the most dedicated fan of the Porcupine Warriors would struggle to recall, so trust that this one would be milked and savored awhile (even if both games, technically, were played at the Baba Yara Stadium, Kotoko's home).

Just ask Steven Mukwala, the Ugandan forward who scored both goals in the latest meeting — as he did in the 3-2 first-round triumph.

"I'm very delighted and you know how it means winning at Baba Yara against the rivals Hearts of Oak. I'm really happy. I know the fans, players and the technical team are all happy," a chuffed Mukwala said post-match.

Kotoko's season, of course, won't be defined by these two wins or, for that matter, by any of the other ten the Ogum's team has strung together. At a club like Kotoko, where success is the minimum demanded, it is the overall complexion of their campaign — all doom and gloom — that would dominate the end-of-term analysis.

In the absence of silverware (for a second season running), though, Kotoko fans would accept a silver lining — and that's just what, with both feet firmly planted on the neck of the old foe, the team has secured.