PAYNESVILLE, Montserrado – The National County Sports Meet has reached its final stage with Nimba set to battle Grand Bassa in kickball while football’s defending champions Montserrado will look forward to defending their title when they take on Bong.
The semifinal matches, which were played on Wednesday, April 18, brought together thousands at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex to watch the last eight teams in the kickball and football version.
Nimba’s girls grabbed the first final spot of the day after crashing out Grand Cape Mount. The Mountaineer Girls managed a narrow 3-2 win over Cape Mount to reach their third consecutive final.
Nimba, which is the defending champions of the kickball competition, will lock horns with a Grand Bassa team that made its way to the final after a 3-1 defeat of Margibi. The win was payback for the Bassa Girls, who lost to Margibi in the group stage of the competition.
Bong’s football team celebrates after reaching the final. Photo: T. Kla Wesley Jr.
The semifinal match between Bong and Nimba drew much attention. Fans expected fireworks between a Bong team that was fighting to reach their first finals since 2008 and Nimba, which had yet to concede a goal since the start of the tournament. The match did not disappoint and was a classic. The winner had to be decided from the penalty spot after a 1-1 draw in full time and the extra 30 minutes of play.
After a tense first half between both teams that ended goalless, it was Nimba that took the lead against Bong. The Mountaineers scored just a minute into the second half. Julius Nyanamah scored from Mark Yallah’s assist to put Nimba ahead.
With Nimba leading by a goal against a Bong that had scored five against Bomi in the quarterfinals, there were hope for an equalizer from Bong fans while the Mountaineers fans were relying on their reliable defense.
Unfortunately for Nimba, they were unable to stop Bong from scoring after conceding in the 57th minute. Bong became the first county to score against Nimba on the pitch when Mark Mensah converted from the spot to level the score.
The equalizer increased the tension in the match with the two sides looking for a goal to get the lead while being mindful with their defenses. Neither were able to score until the full 90 minutes ended and the match moved to the extra 30 minutes of play.
As the match got older, the pressure increased on the pitch with a beautiful display of football. There were cheers around the stadium for the two counties as the match got exciting. With the backing of the fans from the stands, neither county was able to get a goal again until the end of the extra time.
It was from the spot Bong advanced to the finals after a 3-0 win. Nimba failed to convert all three of their penalty kicks to bow out of the County Meet after a worthy run.
Defending champions Montserrado and 2012 champions Margibi kicked off the last semifinal game after Bong triumphed over Nimba.
With the two teams qualifying from the same group with five points each, the match was expected to be a nail biting encounter.
The match began with exciting performances in the early minutes that saw fans cheering two goals before the first ten minutes. Margibi took an early lead in the fifth minute through former Nimba and Montserrado player Daniel Tuazanma.
Tuazanma gave Margibi the lead but their celebrations were cut short after Montserrado leveled the score. Montserrado showed their strength as champions with an equalizer just four minutes after conceding. Mark Karlay scored his third goal in two games to restore Montserrado’s hopes. The two early goals showed signs of the match producing more goals between the two teams before the end of the match.
The score remained one apiece until the 37th minute when heavy rain disrupted the match. The rain flooded the pitch and game was unable to continue, leaving center referee Jerry Yekeh to put a halt to the game.
Some fans departed the stadium while a few stood under the rain waiting for the referee’s decision. After more than 30 minutes waiting the match restarted and played the remaining eight minutes before the first half whistle.
Back from the break, the two teams played a careful football on a wet pitch while in search of further goals. Unfortunately, there was no goal in the game after the full 90 minutes and the match moved to the extra 30 minutes of play. Like the entire second half, none was able to find the back of the net and the match moved to the penalty spot like the first semifinal game.
Heavy Rainfall at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex. Photo: T. Kla Wesley Jr.
Before the end of the extra 30 minutes of play, both teams introduced their second-choice goalkeepers they considered as the best penalty goalkeeper. The substitutions turned out to be of no use after the two shot-stoppers were unable to prevent the first seven kicks from reaching the net.
Margibi missed their eighth shot and would be heading out of the tournament if Montserrado converted their eighth. However, Margibi’s hopes of going through to the final was restored after Montserrado’s goalkeeper, Kofa Nimley, shot off target to keep the score at 7-7.
Margibi’s joy didn’t last long, however, as they went on to miss their ninth shot. It was a second golden opportunity for Montserrado, which needed just to score to advance to the finals. But the drama continued with Montserrado missing their ninth kick as the score remained tied 7-7.
Margibi missed their 10th kick, the third miss in a row and Montserrado made no mistake with their 10th shot to reach the final for the third time in row.
Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley Jr.
