Monrovia — The hope of Liberians seeing their national team playing in the 2023 African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast was dashed on Tuesday, March 28th, when the Bafana Bafana of South Africa secured a 1-2 win over the Lone Star of Liberia at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville. The home team went into the match knowing that a win or draw could give them an added advantage of making it to their third nations Cup, but Coach Ansu Keita's men left the SKD Sports Complex with their heads down.
Bafana took the lead, but William Jebor equalized for Lone Star, and after the break, Tommy Songo failed to deal with a strike well, resulting in the visitors getting their second goal of the afternoon, which ended up being the winning goal. Coach Keita's men, with huge support from the home supporters because of their excellent performance in the first leg away from home, but their lackluster performance was not good enough to win the match and make history. The home side had some decent performance in the match but was outplayed for most of the match.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Lone Star head coach Ansu Keita said he was disappointed in the result against Bafana Bafana: "It was our plan [to qualify for AFCON], it was our objective, but in football, you have to accept that you can play football, do everything to qualify, but the result does not go your way." Following the match, FrontPage Africa has come out with the rating of Lone Star players.
Lone Star players Ratings:
Tommy Songo: As perceived before the contest, the goalie was at fault for the winning goal the South Africans scored and did little to stop the first goal from entering his net. Not really tested, he was lucky enough to make a few saves during the match. Songo was slow in his distribution when his team was in attack and found it hard to combine well with his back line and did little to prevent the Bafana Bafana boys from celebrating a win away from home.
Rating: 4.5/10
Mark Pabai: The full-back, who is noted for his ability to run/fly down the side lines, helping the attack force, made fewer crosses than expected. It was tough for him in closing down his marker. He was also at fault for the South Africans' second goal, giving away the ball in the opponent's half before they started a counter-attack leading to the winning goal.
Rating: 6/10
Murphy Oscar Dorley: The skillful midfielder who played as a left-back was excellent throughout the match, making good runs down the flank and keeping the South Africans' star man, Percy Tau, down. The Liberian left-back provided the assist for Jebor's goal and did not make any mistakes in the game as he was cheered by the home supporters for doing a great job.
Rating: 8.9/10
Sampson Dweh: He was one of the best performers for Liberia in defense. Though he "blew" the ball more than usual (a sign of panic?), the former LPRC Oilers and Pepper FC defender won most of the air balls against the South Africans. Dweh's strong air power and uncompromising man-marking ability were one reason why Lone Star ended the first half level.
"He denied the South Africans a third goal when he came from nowhere to clear the ball from the goal after Songo was beaten from the near post.
Rating: 7.5
Prince Balde: Good reading of the game as usual, accuracy, timing, and a host of air balls won showed once again the reason he is called by his fans Seigo. Prince's inability to move the defense to the center in closing the gap behind the midfield, and his tendency to "blow balls" saw the visiting side attacking the host several times during the match. He was booked in the first half for a tickle when he was trying to win a lost ball in the middle of the park.
Rating: 7/10
Joachim Adukor: Playing as a holding midfielder, was "soft" in his department where the South Africans dominated. He ran out of steam as he could not stop the party the visitors had in the midfield. Adukor, who was one of the country's best players in his first two games, had a lackluster poor game by his standard and was substituted during the second half.
Rating: 4.5/10
Noah Kenneh: The midfielder who earned his second cap was mostly useful when his side was on the attack. Playing in midfield, he failed to complement the efforts of his team's two wingers who were outnumbered. He had a few good touches and passes in the match but seems to still be adapting to African Football. The former England youth player and graduate of Leeds United Academy, Kenneh was very slow on and off the ball and was also easily beaten off the ball by the South Africans who were over-physical. He was substituted after the first half.
Rating: 4.7/10
Terrance Tisdell: The winger who just returned to the team was given the playmaker role to operate from the right flank and provide assists for his team, but was a disappointment to the belief of the home supporters who thought he was going to be the most dangerous player in the Lone Star Line up. Terrance just could not get past his marker, and his pointless runs and inability to keep his zone quite often was a serious embarrassment to the technical staff. Most disappointingly, Terrance failed "to press" to help his team. The fast winger was later substituted after it was noticed he injured his hamstring in the opening stages of the match.
Rating: 4/10
Allen Njie: The box-to-box midfielder's presence was not noticed in getting past his marker. Allen fought to win the ball on many occasions but was dispossessed, and he gave away the ball in the middle of the park resulting in the South Africans' opening goal. The former LISCR FC player ended the game on a very disappointing note after he was at fault for giving the ball away for the visitors' goal. He did not play the full ninety minutes as he was replaced by Justin Salmon in the second half. Rating: 4.9/10
Mohammed Kamara: It was an unlivable performance for the winger on his return to playing in Liberia after many years away. Kamara, who is noted for his kicking ability, dribbling, and scoring goals, had only one attempt on goal, as giving away a high amount of balls was the order of the day for the hitman.
Rating: 5/10
William Jebor: The Lone Star captain was at his very best in the match, closing down spaces and keeping the South African defense from attacking. Jebor was a constant threat to the visitors' defense and was brought down many times in dangerous positions. The attacker got Lone Star's only goal after going down at home. Jebor's presence was just perfect and the attitude that many Liberians needed from the entire team, but it was Jebor and Dorley who played out their hearts for the motherland. Rating: 9.5/10.
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Tonia Tisdell: Tonia came on as a substitute and brought steam to the Liberian side's attacking force. One of the team's best players, he had several decent runs down the flanks and dribbles, but getting the final passes in the opponent's box didn't materialize. Rating: 7/10.
Marcus Macauley: Coming on for Allen Njie, he could not do much against the midfield of South Africa as most of his teammates were out of form and outplayed. The former Monrovia Club Breweries man came with hunger, but his teammates didn't support his fight in the middle of the park. Rating: 5.6/10.
Justin Salmon: The attacking midfielder who replaced Mohammed Kamara had few touches on the ball after coming on. He had the golden chance to level the score, but his touch in the box had less power to beat the South African keeper, who collected the ball with no stress. Rating: 5/10.
Peter Wilson: The attacker came on late in the match to add to the attack upfront with Jebor but was of no significance to his team as his introduction was useless.
Rating: 2/10.
Mohammed Sangare: He played the last 45 minutes of the match and gave his all in winning the ball and drawing fouls, but couldn't produce the same magic he produced away from home.
Rating: 4/10.
