PAYNESVILLE, Montserrado – The games for the 171st Independence Day celebration has concluded with the Lone Star of Liberia playing to a goalless draw against Sierra Leone on Sunday, July 22 at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex.
President George Weah, who in 2001 scored the only goal to help Libera beat Sierra Leone during the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, was among thousands of fans who watch Liberia play.
The team was led by newly appointed coach, Thomas Kojo, who drew a strong starting eleven that included Jordan-based Teah Dennis as the team’s captain and Norway-based attacker Sam Johnson. The rest of the team was dominated by home-based players. LISCR Football Club goalkeeper Tommy Songo started in goal, while former FC Fassell left-back Aloysius Simujlah occupied the left side in defense. Barrack Young Controllers’ new signee Jeremy Sengbay, who starred for the U-20 team in the just-ended West African Football Union U-20 Nations Cup, played at right-back while Teah Dennis was partnered with LISCR Football Club center defender Kemoh Kamara.
In a 4-4-2 formation, Fallah Sheriff and Sam Jackson started at the right and left wings while Allen Njie and Saah Nyumah of LISCR Football Club played in midfield. The attack was led by experienced striker Sam Johnson, who partnered with Liberia’s top goal scorer in the WAFU U-20 Nations Cup, Musa Kebbay.
On paper, the lineup appeared strong, but Liberia was unable to pull the result on the pitch. The team managed just a single on target shot in the first 45 minutes, in which the possession was almost evenly shared between both teams.
Lone Star’s only attempt on target was in the stoppage time of the first half, when Fallah Sheriff saw his shot beating the goalkeeper but then hitting the goal post. Just as the first half was played without much goal scoring chances created for the two teams, so it was in the second half with Sierra Leone having their first attempt on goal. The Leone Stars nearly got a surprise lead in the 61st minute through Al-Hassan Kromah, whose shot was denied by Tommy Songo with a sliding tackle.
In an effort to get a goal, Coach Kojo made several second half changes that introduced LISCR Football Club’s winger Edward Ledlum, BYC FC’s striker Mustapha Lomell, and German-based defender Joseph Aidoo. The substitutions appeared to be the right decision for Kojo, who saw his team carrying more attacks, compared to the first half. Ledlum, who was making his senior debut, nearly got the Lone Star on the scoresheet with a shot that was denied by Sierra Leone goalkeeper, Mohammed N. Kamara.
Both teams were unable to register a single in full 90 minutes as they ended the match goalless. The draw was the fifth between both teams with the Lone Star leading the winning record with eight wins and Sierra Leone having three from the 16 games played.
Before the match between Liberia and Sierra Leone, the president took to the pitch by playing more than 180 minutes for three teams on Saturday, July 21 at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex.
The former FIFA World Player of the Year played 90 minutes and scored once to help the executive branch of government beat the legislative branch in the day’s first match before playing for both the Mighty Barrolle and Invincible Eleven in the second match which moved to the extra 30 minutes of play to decide the winner.
Weah, who played for Mighty Barrolle between 1985 and 1986 before moving to Invincible Eleven, captained the Rollers team to defeat Invincible Eleven 2-1 in the first half of the match. Weah then joined Invincible Eleven as captain to overturn the 2-1 score line to reach a 4-4 draw in the full 90 minutes. The winner was decided in the extra 30 minutes of play where the president got the game winning goal 10 minutes into the first half of the extra time.
The final result meant that the president won all three of the games he played with the executive branch of government and the former players of Mighty Barrolle and Invincible Eleven.
Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley Jr. Â
