By: alusinerehme.wilson@awokonewspaper.sl
Makeni, SIERRA LEONE – A historic event took place on Monday evening at the Makeni Pastoral Center playing field where the Redemption Bilingual Academy Junior Secondary School of Magbureh narrowly defeated Saint Joseph Junior Secondary School for the Hearing Impaired in a closely contested grand final of the 2023 Bombali District Junior Secondary Schools League, through post game penalty shootouts.
The Hearing Impaired JSS football team had lost the clash by a single goal in an exhilarating 11-goal spectacle. Despite missing out on scoring in the third sudden death, following a series of 1-1, 4-4, and 0-0 draws in both game time and post-game penalty shootouts, they showcased an impressive unbeaten run in this year’s Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary School Education (MBSSE) annual school leagues tournament involved a total of 10 Junior Secondary School football teams from Bombali District.
With a bang, the Saint Joseph Junior Secondary School in Makeni began their campaign with a convincing 2-0 victory over Church of God and continued their strong performances by defeating both Kankalay Police Barracks and Saint Francis Junior Secondary School, each with a 1-0 score line with their captain and winger, Abu Bakarr Kamara, who also represents the Sierra Leone National Deaf Football Team, scoring all the goals in these matches.
Although they faced defeat in the finals against Redemption Bilingual Academy Junior Secondary School, the Saint Joseph Junior Secondary School for the Hearing Impaired can take pride in their achievements as they came very close to winning the MBSSE Bombali JSS Football League title for the first time.
In a post-match interview with Awoko Newspaper, Abu Bakarr Kamara attributed his team’s loss to injuries and a lack of proper coordination in the grand finals. Meanwhile, Michael Alie Koroma, the head coach of this year’s champions, commended his players for handling the pressure exerted by the Saint Joseph Junior Secondary School team and ultimately lifting the title in their second appearance in the annual inter-secondary school competition. ARW/13/12/2023