Bertin Ebwelle, the coach of Cameroon side Coton Sport de Garoua, says he is unsure what went wrong in their 3-2 defeat to Ghana’s Asante Kotoko this past weekend.

Kotoko claimed a potentially decisive away win in the teams’ first-leg, playoff round tie at the Military Stadium in Yaounde, with goals from Emmanuel Gyamfi, Maxwell Baakoh and Fatawu Safiu. Coton’s goals were netted by Kamilou Daouda and Lambert Araina.

The Porcupine Warriors are now the clear favourites to wrap up the tie in the return game in Ghana this weekend and seal a place in the group phase of the continental competition.

“I can’t really tell what happened,” said Ebwelle after the match.

“We prepared well, we had all at our disposal but we knew the absence of our two players (Moise Sakava and Serge Seko) was going to serve as a handicap.

“We facilitated things for our opponents and are condemned to an exploit in Kumasi. It’s possible but we need hard work and luck to move on.”

The return match will played at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi on Sunday, January 20. The aggregate winners will advance into the group stage.