By Lamin Idriss Conteh (Cazorla)
Sierra Leone national team, Leone Stars, came from four goals down to play to a four all draw with Nigeria in their Group L, African Cup of Nations qualifying match. The game which was played at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, Nigeria last friday saw Leone Stars make a stunning comeback against their more illustrious opponents. The visitors were rattled in the 4th minute by an opener from Alexi Iwobi and it looked they were in for a thumping with 3 more goals before the first 3o minutes of play, with Iwobi scoring again in between a strike each from Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze.
Kwame Quee struck one for Leone Stars in the 41st minute and the return of play in the second half saw missed chances by the Super Eagles but things changed dramatically in the last remaining 18 minutes of normal time. Al Hadji Kamara gave hope to his side with a goal in the 72nd minute, then Mustapha Bundu added another in the 80th minute before Kamara completed a brace to secure an unbelievable equalizer four minutes from time, igniting wild scenes of jubilation by Sierra Leoneans back home.
Fans of the Nigerian national team have expressed their anger, describing the performance as a "disgrace" and called on the football federation to sack head coach Gernot Rohr. In a Twitter post, one irate supporter wrote, "This is a complete humiliation. How a team that was leading four goals could, drew this game’’?
The players of Sierra Leone have assured supporters that they will work effectively to make sure that they get the result in the return leg. "This is one of the greatest come back in the history of African Football," a supporter of the Leone Stars admitted. John Keister, the head coach of the Sierra Leone national team, has backed his boys to replicate the good spirit and passion when the two teams meet at the Siaka Stevens stadium in Freetown tomorrow Tuesday.
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