AND THE FINALISTS ARE..

BYC and IE qualify for LFA knock-out Finale

A.   A. Macaulay Sombai, macaulay.sombai@frontpageafricaonline.com

Barrack Young Controllers (BYC) and Invincible Eleven (IE) will face off in the grand finale of this year’s Liberia Football Association (LFA) knock-out competition on Friday.

BYC, also known as the Dark Horses, trounced Aries 2-1 while the Yellow Boys dumped Gardnersville FC 2-0 to secure a final berth.

Lamine Jabateh gave BYC the lead in the 23^rd minute as the enterprising young team went into half-time.

Aries equalized shortly after the resumption of play in the 47^th minute from the penalty spot after a defender committed a foul in his own penalty box.

But the equalizer was short-lived as BYC mounted series of attacks, which paid-off with a penalty.

Claudius Morris was up to the task to convert the spot kick in the 73^rd minute.

BYC attacking midfielder Samuel Thompson wasn’t all that delighted about the victory.

“Actually, we are all happy for the victory against Aries but it is a normal thing and we were very sure of reaching the grand final,” he said.

Thompson urged his teammates to remain vigilant as they prepare for the grand final against one of the old hands in Liberian football.

“Let us all know now that we are the main target in the ongoing LFA two major competitions: the premiership and the knock-out. And we should not allow ourselves to lose any of the two [trophies],” Thompson warned.

Young Kingsley, the captain and number one goalkeeper for Aries, attributed his side’s defeat to the LFA favoring BYC against his team.

“My team’s defeat was not fair because the LFA is completely in support of BYC against us. We played to the best of our abilities but we were denied many scoring opportunities by the referee,” said Kinsley.

The captain is hoping that his fellow players try their utmost best to qualify for the first division stage of the LFA at the end of the national league. Aries are currently the third on the second division table.

IE were 2-0 winners against second division league leaders and giant- killers Gardnersville FC in the last semifinal clash.

Isaac Gibson alias Nana Gibson got the opening goal in the 10th minute through a magnificent shot while his teammate Matthew Dede scored the second goal in the 29th minute.  

 

Gardnersville FC and Aries will play in a third place on Friday before the grand final between defending champions BYC and IE.