MONROVIA, Montserrado – After a two-week break, the 2016-17 Liberia Football Association first division league kicked off with league defending champions, Barrack Young Controllers getting the first win over Keitrace Football Club at the Blue Field, the home of BYC.
The Go Blue Boys put an end to Keitrace’s unbeaten run with an emphatic 2-1 win at the venue where Mighty Barrolle ended BYC’s very own unbeaten run with a shocking 3-2 loss.
With FC Fassell getting a 3-1 win over Jubilee to extend its lead at the top of the table by six points, BYC needed a win over Keitrace to keep their title hopes alive.
Goals in each half from fast winger Prince Saydee and striker Van-Dave Harmon were enough to hand BYC its fourth victory of the season.
The match was predicted as a difficult one for BYC who was up against Keitrace with an unbeaten run in four matches.
However, BYC showed they were capable of getting a win. The Go Blue Boys took an early lead through Prince Saydee, who scored with a brilliant left foot finish just five minutes after kickoff.
Keitrace, noted for performing well against bigger opponents despite not having top notch players, kept their faith as they continued to play with regular style on the pitch despite being a goal down.
The little-known side missed the chance of leveling the score in the match’s first attempt in the 20th minute through Titus Kamara who struck from the left side of BYC defense. However, the score remained the same after Kamara saw his shot go off target.
BYC’s Prince Saydee nearly punished Keitrace for missing the chance of leveling the score with two clearer attempts that were stopped by Godfred David. Saydee who is nicknamed after Portuguese national team attacker, Nani by local fans because of his dribbling abilities and speed, continuously made his way through Keitrace’s defense but failed to land his second goal before the end of the second half.
The match got more intense in the 31st minute after Keitrace had leveled the score through Emmanuel Dee. Dee capitalized on a blunder from BYC’s defense to put his side back in contention.
With several chances missed by both sides in the remaining minutes of the first half, the match remained level as both teams went for the break.
BYC, however, returned from the break as the better side and continued to press for a goal to take the lead, restoring the smiles on the faces of their supporters in the 66th minute with the lead for the second time.
The Go Blue Boys got a second goal through Van-Dave Harmon who struggled in a strong tackle with Kietrace’s defender Eugene Swen.Having already beaten to the ball by Van Dave who scored from close range.
Unfortunately, he sustained an injury while fighting for the ball and was immediately substituted without having the chance to celebrate his goal.
Injured Van-Dave Harmon. Photo: T. Kla Wesley Jr.
Harmon’s goal eventually became the match winner after Keitrace failed to level the score.
After the match, Keitrace’s head coach, Gabriel Johns, congratulated BYC for the win and blamed the defeat on his side’s poor performance.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Johns blasted his player for failing to follow his instructions.
“BYC was the better side today. They played better than us and deserve the win,†he said. “My boys played without instruction. That suffered us in the match. They failed to listen to the instructions given them. We played and created some chances, but were unfortunate to get the goals. Because they failed to follow the instructions given to them, we conceded the goals and we lost.â€
Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley Jr.
