The stadium was jammed to capacity with thousands of fanatics expecting nothing but glory and on another day that it mattered most, Leone Stars, the darlings of the Lion Mountains, delivered. They thrashed Equatorial Guinea 2-1 to edge closer to the second stage of the qualification series of the African Nations/ World Cup series.
Congratulations to the soccer warriors of the land of gold and diamonds who have brought pride to our nation. It is a competition in which the Leone Stars have lifted the green, white and blue national flag of Sierra Leone high with magnificient and dazzling soccer against the power-houses of Africa, Nigeria and South Africa. Underrated as unlikely to make it in this group which also includes Equatorial Guinea, Leone Stars proved the sceptics wrong by humiliating South Africa and after yesaterday’s victory, Nigeria could be Leone Stars’ next victim, if they are not over-awed by the reputation of the Super Eagles.
Now, the battle facing Leone Stars is to continue to be among the nine best second placed teams , which would definitely guaranteee them a place in the next stage of the series. A draw at the most in Nigeria against the already-qualified Super Eagles should ensure that .
Congratulations too to Coach Abu Kanu, who has won the laurels where once famous names like Christian Cole and Jebboh Sherrington failed. Where those coaches were dismissed for poor performances by Leone Stars, the relatively unknown Coach Kanu has succeeded in hammering out a Leone Stars squad that Sierra Leoneans are proud of once again.
Sierra Leoneans should also be indebted to professional player, Mohamed Kallon, who enabled Leone Stars to play yesterday’s match by providing $ 45, 000 after the Sierra Leone Football Association( SLFA ) and the government failed to provide the needed support to the national team . Kallon’s gesture shows that there are still patritic citizens in the land. Though out of work himself ( No team yet to play fo, though that problem would soon be solved by one of the most talented footballers in the world ), Kallon placed the national interest above his’. That was highly commendable.
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