By S. Siapha Mulbah
Momo Blamo of Shaita Football Club and Emmanuel Sieh of Watanga were the heroes for their respective sides, during the opening round of the Liberia Football Association 2023 league season, at the National First Division and Second Division, respectively.
Blamo played last season for Tony FC and ended the league as top scorer for the second division. He has entered another chapter of the football era, with Shaita presenting an impressive match day one result at the George Weah Technical Center in Careysburg.
Against Pags FC on Sunday, September 10, 2023, the goal puncher netted his first hattrick, recording his name on the chat of scorers for the new season. His opening result has created pictures in the minds of football fans around the country, judging from his incredible display of sportsmanship during the last season.
He registered his name of the score sheet in the fourth minute of the match to give the home team Shaita FC an early lead over Pags FC. Nearly seven minutes to the close of the first half, the scorer doubled his tally, in the 38th minute. After the recess, Blamo recorded the first hat trick of the new season in the 78th minute at home. His hattrick gave his new club a well-earned 3-1 victory over Pags FC.
Meanwhile Emmanuel Sieh, who left the Monrovia Football Academy for top flight football, took center stage for Watanga attacking force, to collect all three points for the Paynesville-based first division side.
His first half brace against newly promoted first division outfit, Global Pharma, took the former defending champions of the National First Division to the height of celebrations at the end of the match, with a 2-0 victory over the Pharmacy Boys of Bushrod Island.
Sieh’s brace on his debut in the first division puts him among top players in the country that are expected to maintain consistency, going to the league that is highly competitive, with young outstanding youth players.
He played for Nimba County in the last edition of Liberia’s biggest traditional football competition – the National County Sports Meet. At the end of the event, the youngster won the Most Valuable Player award among top colleagues, making him the youngest Liberian to collect the accolade in the history of the event.
