Monrovia- Liberians walked from the Samuel K. Doe sports complex on Tuesday with disappointment Tuesday, following the female national team elimination from the African Women’s Nations cup qualifiers.
By: Christopher C.Walker [email protected] 0777898224/0886723075
Liberia suffered a 3-2 defeat on home soil to Cape Verde who secure a 6-2 aggregate win over their Liberian counterparts on Tuesday who lost the first leg in Cape Verde 3-0.
Coming into the game Liberia was under pressure, having lost 3-0 in the first leg and needed a 4-0 victory at home to advance to the next round of the qualifiers.
The away Cape Verde got off to a good start in Monrovia in the 10th minute of the match when Eveline Nadine Pereira Varela opened the scoring.
But that was short lived, as Dalphine Glao equalized in the 12th minute after a decent run down the flank by Mimi Janice Eiden who provided the assist for Glao.
Pauline Agbotsu had the chance to give Liberia the lead after great feet work but her effort was powerless to beat the visitors keeper.
However, Cape Verde regained the lead in the 23 minutes of the match after a set piece that was poorly defended by the Liberians and their keeper Jackie Touah was responsible for the goal as she kept under the bar allowing visitors to scor from close range.
Liberia’s captain Lucy Massaquoi in the 36th minute give away the ball in the box as the visitors wasted no time to increase their lead through Kleydiana Borges ending the first half 3-1 to the away side.
Back from the break Liberia took control of the game but was unlucky to hit in the equalizer.
Mimi Eiden was a real threat to the Cape Verdeans side but the God of football was not on her side to register her name on the score sheet.
Liberia was awarded a penalty in the 76th minute for a handball in the box and was converted by Hawa Kpan.
Liberia pressurize Cape Verde for the equalizer but couldn’t as the match ended 3-2 to Cape Verde who advanced from the tie on a 6-2 aggregate.
Cape Verde will now play Nigeria in the second round of the qualifiers.
But speaking during a pre-match press conference Liberia coach Selam Zeray Kebede reiterated her commitment to building a strong and competitive national team that can compete with other African nations.
She said her concentration in on the long-term project.
When asked what was the difference between the two sides, the Ethiopian said the Cape Verdeans were good physically, mentally and they have a fantastic team.
But she guaranteed progress and assured Liberians of achieving a proper women’s national team with and support.
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