By S. Siapha Mulbah
Liberian treble champions, LISCR Football Club, have faced the ignominy of elimination from the TotalEnergies Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League, after a 1-0 defeat to Bo Rangers of Sierra Leone.
The Elephant Boys of neighboring Sierra Leone took a narrow win over their hosts in the second leg match of the first qualifying round of the competition, at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville on Sunday August 27, 2023.
During the encounter, which both sides only needed to win to qualify, the Shipping Boys, with high anticipation on home soil, controlled the game, but it was their opponents that caused delirium in the fourth minute, when Suffian Kalokoh netted the lone goal or the visitors, swinging the game in favor of Bo Rangers and the Sierra Leonean fans at the venue.
The early goal was enough for Alhaji Foray to deliver his promise of qualifying Bo Rangers for the next round of the CAF Champions League.
In a pre-match press conference, the Sierra Leonean tactician disclosed that his side had been following the records of Liberian football, which gave him a conviction that teams from the country are known for losing home matches, most especially in national and international competitions.
A one-all draw against LISCR at the Southern Arena in Sierra Leone on August 19, 2023, left the tie wide open. The second leg clash between the two neighboring teams presented a winner-takes-all scenario, but the home side were left red-faced as the visitors took all three points.
From the point at which the goal line was breached by the visitors, the Shipping Boys continued to mount pressure for a leveler that could possibly turn the result, but over and over again, their fans were denied an equalizer, as the early goal determined the winner.
On aggregate, it ended LISCR 1-2 Bo Rangers.
