MONROVIA, Montserrado – After months of preparation under new head coach Tapha Manneh, LISCR FC began the league campaign with a disappointing draw against Keitrace.

Despite possessing the ball the majority of the time, they failed to score many goals and wound up with a last minute frustration as Keitrace struck in the stoppage time of the match to share the points.

However, LISCR managed to put their league campaign back on track with an emphatic 2-0 win over the Invisible Eleven. Second half goals from Christopher Jackson and Edgar Walker were enough to hand Manneh his first competitive win in Liberian football.

After his side struggled to score against Keitrace, Manneh made four changes from his team. National team shot stopper Tommy Songo replaced injured Prince Wlame in goal, while new Ghanaian striker Robert Mensah was given a spot in the first eleven, dropping Trokon Myers to the bench. Both Fallah Sheriff and Alex Kollie, who came on as substitutes against Keitrace, made the first eleven. Manneh’s changes got the goals flowing to allow the team to easily overcome IE.

The score did not tell the whole story as IE began the match as the better side. The Sunshine Yellow Boys began the proceeding on a promising note, having lion’s share of the possession.

With less than 20 minutes to conclude the first half, IE lost concentration, giving LISCR the opportunity to control the match. Just like the match against Keitrace, there were several opportunities missed, with Christopher Jackson squandering three clear chances that could have helped LISCR go to the first half break in the lead.

Desperately in need of a win, LISCR returned from the break with more pressure as they continued to search for the curtain raiser. Eight minutes into the second half, Jackson scored with a close-range shot to give LISCR the lead.

Having lost their first match to Jubilee, IE pushed for an equalizer to avoid two successive defeats, but their poor finishing touches caused no harm to LISCR that was aiming to double their lead. The match got more difficult for IE in the 74^th minute when LISCR doubled their lead through substitute Alex Kollie.

The win took LISCR up to third on the league table with four points, two points behind first and second place teams, BYC and FC Fassell. They will be hoping to get their second win Dec. 17 when they play the LPRC Oilers.

A win against LPRC Oilers will put LISCR in early contention for the first division league title, but Manneh believes it is too early to focus on winning the league. He told reporters his plan is to always focus on the next match.

“What we are looking for is winning our next match. We are building a team that will gradually get the winning rhythm. When we have the opportunity to go for the league title, we will go for it. But for now, we are focused on the next match.”

Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley, Jr.