Eric Bekoe, Asante Kotoko

Kumasi Asante Kotoko have been handed a place in Group B of the African Confederations Cup.

The Porcupine Warriors who were made to sweat for their 4-3 aggregate win over Libyan side Al-Ittihad must now get the better of Tunisian side Etoile du Sahel, Sudan's El-Merreikh and JS Kabylie in the group if they are to reach their second Confederations Cup final after losing the 2004 final to rivals Hearts of Oak.

The line up will really test Kotoko's credentials but the two-time African champions are confident they have what it takes to survive.

Etoile d Sahel have won every CAF organised competition and only last year triumphed in the African Champions League after a famous victory in Cairo over El-Ahly.

JSK’s trophy cabinet is also decorated with the old Cup Winners Cup and CAF Cup which fused to become the Confederations Cup but the Algerians are yet to win that while El-Merreikh were losing finalists in the Confederations Cup last season.

The group stage of the competition gets underway on the weekend of August 15-17 2008.

Meanwhile, players of Al-Ittihad of Libya on Sunday went on the rampage after the match, destroying property worth several thousands of Ghana cedis at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, Kumasi.

Items destroyed included a flat screen television set, a socket and basin tab which were all in the dressing room of the team.

Fleming Sefas, Administrator of the stadium, who briefed the GNA Sports in Kumasi on Monday, said the Al-Ittihad players destroyed the items when they went to the dressing room after the match.

He said the action of the players might have been necessitated by the behaviour of the match officials from Tunisia whom they alleged treated them unfairly during the match, a situation they attributed to their loss of 1-3 to the 'Porcupine Warriors’.

Mr Sefas said in view of the situation, officials of the National Sports Council, owners of the stadium drew the attention of the Match Commissioner who included the development in his report.

He said the NSC also drew the attention of the officials of the Libyan Embassy in Ghana who were at the stadium to watch the match and that the Council had an official written agreement with the Embassy in respect of the conduct of the Al-Ittihad players and officials.

The Administrator indicated that a separate report was also being forwarded to CAF through the Ghana Football Association on the situation and hoped CAF would take the necessary action against the Libyan side.