Sierra Leone national team the Leone Stars restored pride to the nation over the weekend when they defeated their opponent Equatorial Guinea by two goals to one (2-1) in a very crucial match at the National Stadium in Freetown.
During the start of the match the visitors were playing more of a defensive match studying Leone Stars pattern of play. By the 30th minute of play, Leone stars professional player Kewullay Conteh playing in Italy converted the ball into the net with his head from a corner kick taken by Mustapha Bangura.
After the goal the stadium was turned into jamboree with jubilation everywhere as Leone Stars went into the offensive looking for the second goal. The Equatorial Guinea defence headed by Mesaka however prevented Leone stars from increasing the score line until the end of the first half.
In the second half it was a different situation as the Equatorial Guineans came on very strong and more composed looking for their equalizer. That never materialized until Leone Stars increased the tally into two by Sheriff Sumah in the 71st minute when he scored with his head after receiving a superb pass from the near corner from Sallieu Bundu who played his professional football in the States replacing Paul Kpaka who wasted most of the goal opportunities for Leone Stars.
The second goal actually kept the visiting team at bay with little hope of equalizing and progressing to the next stage of the competition. At about four minutes to the end of the match they were able to reduce the score by two goals to one when they scored a consolation penalty.
This win for Leone Stars was very important as they now lie in second position in their group with seven points to their credit out of five matches played with one match remaining against the leader in the group Super Eagles of Nigeria who also defeated South Africa over the weekend in South Africa
Nigeria lead the group with 15 points while South Africa are in third position with 4 points into their credit and Equatorial Guinea are in the bottom of the group with 3 points
A win for Leone Stars against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in their last match in Lagos and a draw between South Africa and Equatorial Guinea will see Leone Stars to the next stage of the competition.
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