MONROVIA, Montserrado – Nimba’s run in the National County Sports Meet ended with frustration after a 3-2 loss to fellow semifinal loser, Margibi.
Nimba finished fourth in the tournament and Margibi made their way to the podium with a third place finish.
Two goals from Aaron Hallie and a goal from Elijah Kamara saw Nimba lose its second game in less than a week.
Having failed to reach the final of the county meet, both teams used the third place match to give substitutes a chance to play. Margibi gave their backup goalkeeper Lawrence Quaye a starting spot in place of Emmanuel Henry.
Fresh from their shocking loss to Maryland County, Nimba began the match very poor as they struggled to maintain possession, allowing Margibi to control the ball in the first half. The Gibi Boys made use of their possession in the 20th minute by taking a much-needed lead thanks to a goal from Aaron Hallie, who had missed several scoring opportunities earlier.
A goal up, Margibi gained confidence as they continued to push for more goals in the first half. However, their lack of finishing touches held the game at 1-0 until the end of the first half.
Margibi’s Aaron Hallie. Photo: T. Kla Wesley Jr.
The one-goal lead looked like it would be enough for Margibi after they returned from the break with more pressure than the first half. However, just eight minutes into the second half, they doubled their lead through another goal from Aaron Hallie, his second of the match. The forceful attacker capitalized on an error by Nimba’s goalkeeper Prince Mawolo to make the score 2-0.
Margibi became more ruthless in front of the Nimba goal and made the score 3-0 in the 58th minute. Their third goal came from a penalty kick after Swen Necolas brought down Wurrie Barry in Nimba’s penalty area. Elijah Kamara converted the penalty to make it 3-0 for Margibi with over 30 minutes remaining in regular time of play.
Despite being down three goals, Nimba kept up their fight for a goal. As the match approached its closing stage, Nimba kept mounting pressure on Margibi until they scored in the 66th minute through Nyan Dahn, who scored with a powerful header.
The lone goal had restored Nimba’s hope and they gained more confidence and continued to keep Margibi’s defense on the alert. They reduced the deficit to one with six minutes remaining after Isaac Deuleah scored from within Margibi’s penalty area to make the score 3-2.
Nimba’s Isaac Deuleah. Photo: T. Kla Wesley Jr.
With the two goals conceded, Margibi became careful and started to sit back on defense to prevent the match from going into extra time. They prevented Nimba from adding a tying goal and finished third behind the two finalists, Maryland and Monsterrado.
Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley Jr.
