Smiles returned to the faces of Sierra Leoneans, as Leone Stars secured three vital points in their construction work towards South Africa 2010 and the African Nations Cup at the National Stadium last Saturday.
They rode home through a lone goal victory which was as a result of a spotkick wonderfully converted home by skipper Mohamed Kallon after midfielder Samuel Ballay was tripped over in the penalty area.
As he stepped forward to convert the kick, Sierra Leoneans held their breath expressing optimism that there skipper would tap the ball home.
When the Burkina Faso referee sounded the whistle he coolly stepped forward to send the goalie in the wrong direction, as the not-too-attendant crowd burst into wide jubilation.
Even the dead at the nearby cemetery could have been awoken from their deep slumber.
Having waited in vain for this sweet victory over that period of time, fans could not hold their emotion as they danced through the streets of Freetown showering praises on their darling Leones Stars.
The victory was not that easy as the South Africans put up a brave fight which clearly demonstrated that our squad needs more fitness exercises in order to sustain them during the match duration.
It was evidently clear that Leone Stars lost focus during the second segment as the South Africans stepped up their gears to penetrate the defence forcing goalie Christian Caulker to make some remarkable saves during that segment of the match.
Leone Stars could have increased the score line, but the crossbar denied Mustapha Haji a goal, while poor finishing on the part of striker Kai Kamara added woe to the lack of goal scoring ability.
A rather optimistic Coach Ahmed Kanu told Awoko after the heart breaking encounter that “this winning has motivated the squad for the return leg in Pretoria next weekend.”
He assured fans that, “all is not lost yet, as the squad is really focused, taking into consideration that (they) are moulding a youthful side which is bound to make the nation proud.”
Coach Kanu further called on Sierra Leoneans to have patience as sooner than later the tide would be moving in the direction of the team.
Rending his expertise on the sideline was former ace-striker Akie Noah
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