MONROVIA, Montserrado – The National County Sports Meet continues to produce more shocking results with one of the favorites failing to reach the semifinals and the underdogs continuing their success.
Group stage giant Grand Cape Mount has bowed out of the competition on the final day of quarterfinal matches. Despite their superb performance in the group stage, the western Liberian team failed to make the semifinals even with their 2-1 win over Maryland in their last group match.
Since they lost a game and tied in another in their two previous group matches, they needed a win of 2-0 or more to stand a chance to qualify. Maryland, with a win and a draw from their two previous matches, needed at least a draw to seal a place in the semifinals.
With both counties fighting to qualify, the opening half of the match was full of fireworks, but it was Cape Mount that went to halftime with a 1-0 lead after scoring in stoppage time. However, center referee Sam Kotie’s mistake restored hope for Cape Mount.
Having blown for an indirect kick, a call which requires at least two players to touch the ball before going into play, Kotie allowed George Freeman alone to take a brilliant strike that beat Maryland’s goalkeeper, Mason Goe.
However, Maryland never stopped pushing for an equalizer after the break. The Southeasterners finally leveled the score in the 59th minute thanks to a goal from Victor Allison, who capitalized on Cape Mount’s goalkeeper Francis Doe’s error.
With the score leveled, the match became more difficult for Cape Mount, which needed an additional two goals to keep their semifinal hopes alive. With ten minutes left in regular time of play, Cape Mount took the lead for the second time with a goal from Jocee Yamba. However, they never scored their necessary second goal, and the final whistle was blown.
Cape Mount’s Jocee Yamba. Photo: T. Kla Wesley Jr.
Despite the defeat, Maryland progressed to the semifinals on goal differentials. In three games, they scored four goals and had only three goals conceded, while Cape Mount bowed out with three goals scored and three goals against.
Meanwhile, one of the poor group stage teams, Monsterrado, secured a spot in the semifinals with seven points in three quarterfinal games. Monsterrado failed to win a single game in the group stage, drawing all three games. Having played to another draw with Maryland in their quarterfinal match, they grabbed their first win in round two of the quarterfinals with a narrow 1-0 win over Cape Mount.
Monsterrado locked in their semifinal spot with a convincing 2-0 win over River Gee in their last match of the group stage. Despite their poor performance against River Gee, they were able to collect all three points with great efforts from second half substitutes Joseph Zayzay and Musa Kebay.
After a difficult first half that saw River Gee miss over five possible chances to send them into the break with an advantage, it was Monsterrado that took the lead in the second half. Zayzay, who scored the only goal to help Monsterrado overcome Cape Mount, struck from within River Gee’s penalty box to give Monsterrado the lead in the 68th minute.
Six minutes later, Monsterrado took total control of the match after doubling their lead with a goal from Musa Kebbay, who scored from Zayzay’s assist.
Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley, Jr.
