MONROVIA, Montserrado – LISCR Football Club earned its second win of the season after five games as the Shipping Boys got a comfortable 3-1 win over Mighty Barrolle, which continues to struggle since returning to first division football.
A double from newly signed forward Varney Sando and a goal from center defender Grosso Sobloh were enough to hand Coach Tapha Manneh his second league victory in Liberian football.
LISCR desperately needed this win against point donors Mighty Barrolle to keep alive their title hopes.
As expected, it was LISCR that began the proceeding as the better side with Barrolle struggling to compose themselves in the early minutes of the match. It took just ten minutes for fans to witness the first goal of the match after center defender Grosso Sobloh headed in from a Fallah Sheriff corner.
Grosso Sloboh. Photo: T. Kla Wesley Jr.
The goal was Grosso’s first ever for LISCR. The Shipping Boys nearly made it two goals in one minute with a missed effort from Trokon Myers, who failed to beat Barrolle’s goalkeeper within the six-yard box.
Despite having the possession and producing some runs upfront, LISCR’s defense was unable to handle Barrolle’s attack that consisted of Moses Cooper and former UMC Roots hit man, Julius Woto.
The Rollers were denied twice by LISCR shot stopper, Tommy Songo, who kept the score at 1-0 with two brilliant saves until Varney Sando doubled the lead for LISCR in the 37th minute. Sando collected a killer pass from striker Christopher Jackson and dribbled his way through a weak Barrolle’s defense to score with a left foot shot.
LISCR looked satisfied with the two goals scored in the first half and reluctantly played the final minutes in which they prevented Barrolle from scoring to keep the score at 2-0.
A visibly fatigued Barrolle team returned to second half as if they had wish the first half whistle would have gone in place of full time. The Kanyan Pepper Boys returned to the pitch as if they had played the 90 minutes already, allowing LISCR to dominate the match.
Varney Sando celebrates his first goal. Photo: T. Kla Wesley Jr.
Eleven minutes after the restart of match, LISCR added their third goal through Sando who got his name registered on the score sheet for the second time. Sando received a pass from Fallah Sheriff who made a beautiful run from the left and crossed the ball to the right from where Sando came running to place the ball in the bottom right corner of the net.
Already three goals up, LISCR became the clear favorite to win and became appeased but were given a real test in the final minutes by Barrolle. With LISCR failing to continue their attacking style after going three goals up, Barrolle stole the show as they became the better side. They became more dangerous in attack, but the lack of perfect finishing touches prevented them from getting the goals.
Their only goal in the match came in the 33rd minute from a penalty. In an attempt to win a cross ball, Daniel Woto brought down Alieu Kamara in the six-yard box to concede a penalty. Moses Cooper converted the kick to reduce the goal deficit.
The lone goal sent a warning shot to LISCR that got back to business to take control of the match. However, it was Mighty Barrolle that got the lion share of the remaining minutes but was unable to pull two goals back to get a share of the three points.
Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley, Jr.
