By Alpha Abu
The two Sierra Leonean clubs at this year’s Confederation of African Football (CAF) competitions have been eliminated.
Bo Rangers, and East End Lions, got eliminated in the preliminary stage of the CAF club champions and confederation cup, respectively over the weekend.
Bo Rangers lost 0-1 away in Ivory Coast to San Pedro in the return leg played on Sunday 25th August. The previous leg at the Southern Arena in Bo ended in a 1-1 draw.
Before their encounter in Ivory Coast, hopes were high amongst fans of Rangers that they might sail through, considering the fact that they had played so well in Bo and were unlucky after many misses in front of goal.
A sizeable number of supporters travelled with Rangers to watch the match. At halftime it was still goaless but it was in the 80th minute of play that they conceded the goal that turned out to be crucial. And so it ended with Rangers going out.
It was a cruel end for Rangers on whom so much hope was placed. Popular club Chairman Babadi Kamara,the entire management, and the staunch fan base of Rangers in particular will be utterly disappointed at such a turn of events.
There’s bound to be drastic changes at Rangers, given the great ambition of Chairman Babadi. Coach John Keister was quoted in his post-match press conference of need for an overhaul of Sierra Leone football. The point though is that such overhauling will have to start within the very club itself. Some players have to go and a search for new talents beyond Sierra Leone initiated.
Lions got beaten three goals to nil by ASC Jaraaf in Senegal; the first leg was also a loss for Lions 0-1. In our subsequent publications, we will take introspective look at both Rangers and Lions.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (28/08/24)
