MONROVIA, Montserrado – LISCR Football Club has departed the country for Sudan for their CAF Champions League game against 36-time Sudanese Premier League champions Al-Hilal.
The Shipping Boys departed the country on Thursday, February 15, via the James Spriggs Payne Airport in Sinkor, Monrovia.
According to a release on the club’s official Facebook page, the Liberian First Division and FA Cup Champions departed the country Thursday 7:20 a.m. and arrived in Ghana by 9:00 a.m. The club will transit in Ghana for six hours before their departure to Khartoum where they are expected to stay for a week.
They will face their Sudanese counterpart on Tuesday, February 20 at the Al-Hilal Stadium in Khartoum. The three-time Liberian champions are heading to the return leg with a 1-0 lead after their narrow win on Sunday, February 11 at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium.
Sheku Sheriff scored the only goal for head coach Tapha Manneh’s side in the 20th minute with a beautiful set piece from the edge of the penalty box.
LISCR may be going in with the advantage but the team will have a lot to do on the pitch in Sudan if they are to reach the first-round qualifiers. Despite winning the first leg at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium, the Liberian side remains the underdog in the match that is expected to produce more fireworks between the two sides.
Hilal has never dropped from the preliminary round in 51 years and will not want to exit the competition at the early stage at the expense of a LISCR team that has never crossed the preliminary round.
LISCR failed to cross the preliminary round in their last two appearances. They made their debut in the competition in in 2012 when they were knocked out by Ghanaian Premier League side Berekum Chelsea 5-0 on aggregate. Their second appearance was in 2013 when they faced Union Douala of Cameroon. Just as their debut season was full of disappointment, they failed to register a win as they bowed out of the competition 3-1 on aggregate.
The club departed the country with a 34-man delegation which includes 19 players, seven technical staff members, the club president, the deputy minister of youth and sports, the secretary general, a media officer, and three other members.
List of Players:
- Tommy Songo – Goalkeeper
- Prince Wlame – Goalkeeper
- Kemoh Kamara – Defender
- Emmanuel Tarpeh – Defender
- Asiamuh Dann – Defender
- Adama Sabally – Defender
- Daniel Woto – Defender
- Hilton Varney – Defender
- Saah Nyumah – Midfielder
- Allen Njie – Midfielder
- Benjamin Doe – Midfielder
- Sheku Sheriff – Midfielder
- Stephen Seameh – Midfielder
- Amadiah Kawah – Midfielder
- Edward Ledlum – Midfielder
- Bully Drammeh – Midfielder
- Mustapha Njie – Striker
- Prince Urey – Striker
- Mark Paye – Striker
Featured photo courtesy of T. Kla Wesley Jr.
