The opening round of the 2016-17 National County Sports Meet was full of disappointment, as there were shocking results for some of the competition favorites.
Of the six matches played across the country, there were only two wins, with the rest ending as draws.
Group One host, Grand Cape Mount, kicked off their campaign with a narrow win over Bomi. A 74th-minute strike from substitute Boakai Balo was enough to make Cape Mount the lone winner in Group One, as they seized the lead.
Despite the massive preparation from football defending champions, Grand Bassa, they were unable to get all three points in their opening match against underdog Gbarpolu. Grand Bassa, even with magic man David Paye, was unable to find the back of the net in their attacks, as they were held to a goalless draw.
Bassa will hope to get their County Meet campaign back on track in their second match when they meet Bomi, while Cape Mount will fight to secure a quarterfinal spot in the second match against Gbarpolu.
Meanwhile, Lofa secured their first point in Group Two after playing to a goalless draw against Margibi. Playing on home soil, Lofa failed to land a win against a fatigued Margibi team that arrived in Voinjama just a day before the match due to the poor road conditions. Both Lofa and Margibi will be hoping to land their first win when they meet Bong.
There was a big disappointment for 2016-17 football losing finalist, Monsterrado which was denied victory in the stoppage time of their opening match against Group Three host, Nimba. Despite taking the lead twice, Monsterrado was unable to snatch all three points away from Nimba.
With Nimba and Monsterrado playing to a draw, there were high hopes for River Cess and Sinoe. Either could have earned a win to top the group. However, their match turned out to be boring, as they both failed to score a goal and settled for a goalless draw.
The biggest surprise of the opening day of the competition was in Group Four, where favorites, Grand Gedeh, bowed in a 2-0 loss to underdog Grand Kru.
With Grand Gedeh’s recent form in the county meet, there were huge expectations of them walking away with an easy win. With the loss to Grand Kru, they may miss out of the quarterfinals spot if they fail to improve against Maryland and Sinoe.
Meanwhile, in the group’s first encounter, host Maryland was held to a goalless draw by neighboring River Gee.
Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley Jr.
