Let the games begin!
The Sierra Leone Premier League returns today after a five months break. From 4:30pm, games will play in the East, South and Western area of the country. Today, six of the 14 teams will get back to playing and fighting each other for the next six months.
FC Johansen, Mighty Blackpool, Freetown City FC, Bo Rangers, Diamond Stars, Kamboi Eagles and Anti-Drugs are all in action.
So, brace up for 364 games full of pure excitement, drama and adrenaline rush. It doesn’t get better than this.
Let the games begin!
Blackpool face Johansen amidst rancor
FC Johansen v Mighty Blackpool
Mighty Blackpool will face FC Johansen today in the Sierra Leone Premier League amidst deep rancor within its (Blackpool) rank. The administrative wing of the club has been in turmoil since the end of last season.
Rival factions have claimed and denounced each other’s legitimacy to run the club. It is not clear exactly how all this turmoil has affected the players. Today’s outing might tell.
Last season Blackpool didn’t have a great season; they finished 5th and ended up firing two coaches.
FC Johansen come into this game after a year in the cold, following Isha Johansen decision not to register her team for last season’s league, citing the “illegitimacy” of the league.
The season away has given them chance to build a very formidable team. There is a lot of talk about the depth of talent pool coach Abdulai Kaloga Bah has at his disposal. Including the Ghanaian midfielder, Samuel Kweku Bekoe.
Blackpool’s new coach, Chernor Mansaray is calm about their chances this season. He will welcome “Madam Boys” in to the new premier league era.
Rangers to launch title challenge against FCFC
Bo Rangers v Freetown City Football Club
Bo Rangers have been tipped as one of the favorites for this year’s title. Their management of the club has spent heavily on player recruitment. Last season Rangers were nicknamed “the weeping boys”, after losing their first half a dozen games in the league.
They later recovered and went on a brief surge to finish just above the relegation zone. But by every standard, last season was a wretched one for them. If they are to meet the expectation of a title contender tag, then they should be winning against Freetown City Football Club easily.
FCFC were the wild cards last season. With FCFC there is no telling what you will get; one week they will be brilliant and the other week they will be miserable. They are one of the few teams that can excite and frustrate you in equal measure.
That air of unpredictability around them is what kept them afloat right through the season. They are clearly the under dogs in this game, but they are big, bad and unpredictable under dogs.
Bo Rangers finished 11th last season whiles FCFC finished 7th.
Eagles aim to soar against Parade
Kamboi Eagles v Central Parade
Kamboi Eagles against Central Parade is a mouthwatering clash. Like so many other teams, Kamboi Eagles is aiming for the title. Anything less than a win in this game will be a disappointment. That’s the mentality of this new team.
The coach, Alhaji Foray told Politico last weekend that teams must watch out because they (Eagles) are coming for the title.
Last season they surprised us all; with a small budget and a largely homegrown team, they pushed the very best teams in the country to the brink. There was a time during the season when they were just six points way from topping the league table.
They finished third with 35 points, 11 points away from the second place.
Like Eagles, Central Parade also had a good season for much of last season. But Parade fell off the trail and barely hung on to finish in the top five. They were the third favorite after Lions and FC Kallon to perhaps win the title. They were brilliant in the first half of the season, but their woes started in the second half. They had to fire two coaches by the end of the season.
This season their preparation has been quiet so far. Teams have poached their players and they are locked in rumors of the club being put up for sale. In short there is a thick air of uncertainty surrounding Central Parade now.
They can prove us all wrong by getting something in Kenema. This is going to be a very long season for Parade. But they can survive if they take it one game at a time.
Parade finished 6th in the league last season.
Diamond Stars v Anti-Drugs
The coach of Diamond Stars is out on national assignment with the U-20 national side. But that should not mean much for a team with much talent like Diamond Stars.
Last season they started roughly but got back in the mix to finish the league strongly, even though their position didn’t suggest that. They finished 10th and it could have been worse.
Anti-Drugs are already a relegation candidate. For most of last season they were poor in the league. They finished bottom of the table, winning only three of their 24 games in the league. They lost 10 games, the only two teams that lost more in the league last season are East End Tigers and RSLAF FC.
If Anti- Drugs are to defy the odds of relegation, then they should start getting points in Kono. On paper this is a very difficult match for them. Kono is always a difficult place to go.
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