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Liberia National County Meet: Lofa County hold on to defeat Grand Gedeh in men's final

Writer's picture: Andrew OlssonAndrew Olsson

Photo Credit: Kingsley Horace Photography/Facebook: Kingsley Thé Bløgger 
Photo Credit: Kingsley Horace Photography/Facebook: Kingsley Thé Bløgger 

For the last couple of months, Liberians all over the country have been closely following the nation's beloved Liberian National County Meet, which features multiple sporting events involving representative teams from the fifteen counties in the West African nation. On Sunday the popular men's football tournament concluded with Lofa County defeating Grand Gedeh County by a 2-1 score in the final.


The Samuel Kanyon Doe Complex was packed with vocal supporters in a festive atmosphere. After a positive start, Grand Gedeh were stunned by an opening goal from Lofa in the 11th minute. A long ball from the defense found forward James Tarpeh and his finish just snuck over the goal line just before Grand Gedeh keeper David Tarlue could get back to swat the ball away.


Video: Lofa County opens the scoring (Credit: Intel Sports Liberia)

That was only the beginning of a dramatic first half and subsequent match. Grand Gedeh worked hard to find their way back into the match and the equalizer arrived on the 27 minute mark. Nush Zohn unleashed a fierce low shot that was spilled into the path of Daniel Maoh who pounced for a poacher's finish.



But Lofa bounced back quickly to restore their lead six minutes later. A lifted ball towards the edge of the Grand Gedeh penalty area caused all sorts of chaos and forward Francis Doe was the quickest to respond with a sliding finish, putting Lofa back in front.



With Lofa ahead at the half, Grand Gedeh once again gathered strength for another comeback and it appeared that they were set to level when a penalty kick was awarded early in the second half. However in the most dramatic moment of the match, Maoh stepped up expecting his second goal but a tame spot kick was snatched by Lofa keeper Junior Yeanaye much to the joy of the Lofa supporters.



Grand Gedeh continued to push for the elusive second goal but their efforts were in vain as Lofa defended their lead, fending off multiple opportunities before the full time whistle sounded to a roar of approval. It is the second time Lofa County have won the men's football tournament with both victories coming in the last five years.





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