When Kumasi Asante Kotoko line up against Wikki Tourists in the second leg CAF Confederations Cup preliminary match at the Baba Yara Stadium on Sunday, the weight of expectation would be very high on striker Eric Bekoe as he attempts to score his first competitive international goal for his side.

Frankly, Bekoe cannot be a one-man victory package for the Porcupine Warriors, but many are those who think that his goal-scoring prowess exhibited in the local league must be translated onto the continental scene.

The Black Stars player will be playing in only his second competitive match in Africa for Kotoko since joining the Kumasi club at the beginning of the season, but the pressure is on him to score in the Confederations Cup.

He fetched two goals for Kotoko last Wednesday in a trial match against Bechem United as Kotoko beat them 4-1, and expectations are high that he will score his first continental goal on Sunday.

But CEO Sylvester Asare Owusu believes that not an individual factor, but team Spirit, will be key to Asante Kotoko's triumph over Wikki Tourists on Sunday.

The two-time chairman had harboured a grand plan to lead the club to hunt for continental glory which had eluded them since they last won the then African Clubs Championship in 1983.

Kotoko are undergoing a renaissance of a sort and Sylvester believes that the new wind blowing in the club is strong enough to sweep aside the Nigerians and enable them to take another leap into the competition which they want to use as the route to winning the Africa Super Cup.

An impressive recruitment exercise undertaken by the management had brought a new level of hope in the team as the blend of new and old players had presented a solid team which looked ready to do battle against the rest in the competition and come out tops.

While they await Tourists in the second leg, only a convincing victory would leave little doubts in the minds of their long-suffering supporters that Kotoko are indeed back on the continental scene with a big bang.

The Nigerian side, which swore to beat Kotoko by not less than four goals in the first leg had to swallow their own words as they struggled to settle 2-2 with the Porcupine Warriors.

Already pundits are predicting a massive score line for Kotoko, but caution is always necessary in matches of such nature.

There is still a question mark about the fitness of Bekoe's Black Stars colleague, Harrison Afful, for Sunday's game. The defender had malaria after playing for the local Black Stars against Niger in Tamale last Sunday.

Afful's gritty performance at the left side of the Kotoko defence is always a delight to watch, and his absence could create a hole at the back.

Emmanuel Osei Kuffuor who won the more prestigious CAF Champions league with Hearts of Oak has shown determination to lead Kotoko to glory in Africa.

Kuffuor fetched one goal in the first leg, and a repeat in Kumasi would underline his avowed determination to tell another story in continental football.

While Kotoko go into action in Kumasi with high hopes, many are raising questions about the ability of Ashanti Gold to overcome Algerian giants, J.S. Kabylie, in the more prestigious CAF Champions league at Obuasi.

Beating the Ghanaians 3-0 in the first leg, the Algerians who arrive in Ghana today would surely be fancying their chances of qualification at the expense of the Ghanaians.

Ashgold did not prove equal to the task upfront in Algeria and much is expected of the technical bench to devise the strategy to overpower JSK on Sunday.

Preview by Kwame Asare Boadu