Sierra Leone defeat Liberia after postponement

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:20 am

Sierra Leone held on for a 1-0 win over Liberia at the WAFU Cup of Nations a day after the game was postponed due to floodlight failure.

The game started on Sunday night, but was temporarily postponed in the 71st minute with the score at 1-0.

Sierra Leone started strong on Sunday night and almost took the lead in the 10th minute when a headed pass from Mahmoud Fofanah found Musa Kamara in space 8 yards out, but his high bicycle kick struck the crossbar.

The Leone Stars continued to push forward and went close again in the 21st minute when loose ball at a corner kick fell to Suffian Kalokoh, but he blasted inches over from 14 yards out.

Liberia started to find their footing in the game after that and nearly opened the scoring in the 27th minute when Terry Sackor met a left-side free kick with a 10-yard header, but his effort came back off the outside of the post.

Six minutes later Sackor was in the thick of the action following a goalmouth scramble inside the Sierra Leone box as the keeper fumbled the ball into his path, but for a second time he struck the right-hand post from close range.

Sierra Leone took a 1-0 lead before the lights went out.
Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

The Leone Stars, though, took the lead in the 40th minute when Kalokoh capitalised on a mistake in the defence and superbly volleyed home from the edge of the box to make it 1-0 at the break.

The second half saw Liberia start positively with Kelvin Potis a real threat in attack and he came close to scoring just after the hour mark when he let fly with a powerful 18-yard shot from an acute angle on the right, but it went narrowly over the target.

The match was cast into darkness in the 71st minute due to floodlight failure and action only resumed on Monday in the same minute the game was stopped with the same players on the field.

Liberia looked a lot fresher than they did the night before and came close to equalising in the 75th minute when Daniel Paye worked his way into the box, but he saw his 14-yard effort magnificently saved by the fingertips of the Sierra Leone keeper.

The Liberians threw players forward in the final 10 minutes, but could not find a goal as the Leone Stars held on for the slender victory.

Sierra Leone will now progress into the quarterfinals of the Cup competition where they will play the winner of the match between Mali and Niger on Oct. 6, while Liberia will take part in the Plate quarterfinals and play the loser.