MONROVIA, Montserrado – The Barrack Young Controllers will have an even more difficult chance of reaching the group stage of the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup following their 1-1 draw against South African ABSA Premiership side SuperSports United on Sunday, April 9, at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium.

The Go Blue Boys were forced to a 1-1 draw in a match they dominated but wasted efforts in front of the goal. Fresh from participating in the 2017 WAFU club competition, BYC showed they were out for a win against a SuperSports team that played without several key players.

Their early possession and a coordinating ball display saw them creating the first chance of the match just seven minutes into the first half through the towering midfielder Abdoulia Bility, who missed a header from a close range.

Three minutes after missing out the chance of taking the lead, the visitors got the back of the net through midfielder Fagrie Lakay. The 18-year-old South African scored with a close range shot from Thuso Phala’s cross.

The early goal silenced the spectators in the stadium who were surprised of BYC conceding an early goal despite being the better side in the opening minutes.

Six minutes after conceding, the Liberian first division champions came close to leveling the score through a wasted effort from David Tweh. The speedy winger made his way from the left side, eliminating two of SuperSports’s defenders to drive in their penalty area but saw his strike at goal travel over the crossbar.

BYC kept up the pace by having much of the possession and attacking the ball, with Prince Saydee causing the damage from the right side of the pitch. Saydee, nicknamed “Nani,” won the heart of the crowd with his fast dribbling skills that allowed him to demolish an experience SuperSports United’s defense.

Despite not having much of the possession, the Pretoria-based club tried to make use of every single opportunity they had. Former Cape Town City winger Aubrey Modiba came close to doubling the lead for SuperSports United with a long range shot that was cleared by BYC’s shot stopper Allenton Sembeh for a corner.

The Go Blue Boys were down by a goal but never stopped their pressure until leveling the score in the 26^th minute. Randy Dukuly made it 1-1 with a header from Hilton Varney’s cross. Ten minutes after getting the much-needed equalizer, BYC were gifted a golden opportunity to take the lead. The ever dangerous Prince Saydee forced his way into the SuperSports defense and tried crossing a ball that was stopped by Keegan Ritchie, who handled the ball with his hand.

The stadium went wild with the expectation that BYC would convert the penalty into a lead. However, BYC showed a usual poor form from the penalty spot as right back Karleo Anderson failed to get the ball behind the 25-year-old goalkeeper Ronwen Williams. The former Tottenham Hotspur youth goalkeeper became the hero as he saved Anderson’s right foot shot that traveled the bottom left corner of his goal.

Further efforts to score by both teams failed as their defenses were up to the task to prevent conceding until the end of the first half.

The match resumed after the break with fireworks from both teams, but it was BYC who again had much of the chances but failed to get one behind Williams. After denying BYC from the spot, he went on to make three incredible saves in the second half to help SuperSports earn a point away from home.

BYC’s team. Photo: T. Kla Wesley, Jr.

BYC”s goal scorer Randy Dukuly came close to getting his second goal of the match but was denied by Williams who cleared the ball from the goal line. Williams made a diving save to send the ball out for a corner.

As the match was approaching its closing stages, the home side continued their dominance but their effort in scoring was quite disappointing and the visitors appeared to be satisfied with the score.

In the 66^th minute, Williams produced another fine goalkeeping skills by denying Prince Saydee, who had an open chance within the penalty area. He went on to save what many considered the save of the match in the 75^th minute when he punched out Hilton Varney’s long range shot for a corner.

The left back took a stunner from outside the penalty box that took Williams by surprise. However, the young shot-stopper was on time to clear the ball off his line as he kept the score at 1-1.

Few chances were created by the visitors, but they were far off target as the match ended with a disappointing score line for BYC while the South Africans went back home with a crucial away goal.

After the match, BYC’s head coach Cooper Sannah praised his team for their performance against a tough opponent.

“I’m happy with the performance of my team, especially against a team like SuperSports,” he said. “The name SuperSports United is a household name in African football. After watching some videos of SuperSports, we were able to work as a team by defending and attacking from the start to the end of the match.”

SuperSports will host BYC on Sunday, April 16 at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in the return leg in Pretoria, South Africa. The Liberian side must fight to get a win away from home or play to a draw of more than a 1-1 scoreline to get a chance of entering the group stage.

Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley Jr.