MONROVIA, Montserrado – Liberia took a major step toward qualifying for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations by defeating Group A underdog Djibouti 5-0 at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium in Monrovia on Tuesday, March 29.

Coach James Debbah made three changes from the team that got a 1-0 win away at Djibouti.

William Jebor replaced Patrick Wleh up front while Serbia-base Omega Roberts replaced Dikir Glay in center defense.

Barack Young Controller’s left back Hilton Varney made his debut for the Lonestar and played the full 90 minutes. He replaced Israel-based Gizzie Dorbor.

Also, in the match was Norway-based attacker Dauda Bortu, who made his debut, coming on as a substitute for Sam Johnson in the 87th minute.

The result was secured by first-half goals from Anthony Laffor and Sam Johnson and a William Jebor second half hat-trick that saw the Lonestar move to nine points at the top of Group A, two ahead of second and third place Togo and Tunisia.

A ninth minute penalty from Anthony Laffor opened the scoring for the Lonestar. Ponferradina’s striker William Jebor was upended in the six-yard box. The Spain based finisher carried his marker in the box before falling and Laffor calmly finished.

Liberia, the match favorite, took control of the game with much of the possession and doubled their lead in 28th minute through Sweden-based forward Sam Johnson who scored his first international goal after a receiving a clinical assist from Cyprus-based midfield maestro Theo Weeks.

Two minutes after Liberia had doubled their lead, Djibouti replied with a goal that was later disallowed by the first referee Jose Mendes, who claimed there was a foul on Liberia’s goalkeeper, Tommy Songo.

The disallowed goal sparked confusion and the match was halted for six minutes. In protest, players and coaches of Djibouti ran onto the pitch to attack Jose Mendes. Djibouti’s head coach, Noureddine Gharsalli, was sent out to the stand for misconduct.

The game was resumed in the 36th minute and both teams played the remaining time of the first half that ended 2-0 in favor of the Lonestar.

Commotion on the field after a disallowed Djibouti goal. Photo: T. Kla Wesley, Jr.

The second half was an all-Jebor affair as he netted a hat-trick, his second for the country, making him the top scorer in this current generation with eight goals from eight matches.

His first was an over-the-top ball from goalkeeper Tommy Sango that saw the ball beat Djibouti’s center defenders for Jebor to tap it in. The goal came just two minutes after the second half opened.

The ruthless striker made the score 4-0 in the 57th minute with a shot from inside the six-yard box from Kpah Sherman’s assist.

He completed his hat-trick in the stoppage time of the match with a close-range shot after receiving an assist from substitute Sekou Conneh.

From four games, Liberia has won three, collecting nine points and scoring eight goals. The nine points put Liberia on top of Group A, two points over second and third place Tunisia and Togo.

The Lonestar needs a maximum of four points from their remaining two games if they are to reach the 2017 Nations Cup that will be hosted by Gabon.

Liberia will host Togo in June and travel away at Tunisia to complete their qualification matches.

A win at home against Togo and obtaining, at least, a point away at Tunisia will put Liberia through to the Nations Cup – a moment many football pundits believe is long overdue.

Debbah praised his players after for their performance during the match and said his team is on the right path. He called on his players to remain focused if they are to reach the Nations Cup.

Lonestar Coach James Debbah. Photo: T. Kla Wesley, Jr.

“We are on the right path as you can see. We are on top of the group, but there’s a long way to go. All we need to do as a team is to focus, and we will do it as a team,” Debbah told reporters after the match. “The team played well, played a collective game and got the needed result. We’ve put smiles on the faces of the fan and have given ourselves the boast.”

He further stated that he was not worried about the match against Togo and Tunisia.

“Why discuss Togo and Tunisia now? We had a game today and we won, that’s the most important thing for now. I trust my team and I’m confident of them. We will work together and win together.”

Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley Jr.