By: Mohamed Abu Conteh
Port Authority Football Club will today host East End Lions Football Club in the fiercest rivalry in the Eastern derby at the Brima Attouga Complex.
East End Lions can boast of a clean sweep from the last season’s two fiery meetings and currently sit third and two points above their bitter rivals Port Authority FC in the current standings.
However, Before the derby, Ports Authority FC have won their four previous matches while the Killers as they are fondly called have been inconsistent despite beating Bai Bureh Warriors in Port Loko last weekend. Ports Authority will move a point clear above the Killers with a win against their rivals.
Francis Zappa Koroma the head coach of East End Lions Football Club said it is going to be a difficult match playing against Ports Authority FC away from home.
“This fixture is a match I have played as a coach, and I know how it looks like when the two sides meet in the Premier League. The team is in high spirits and focused ahead of today’s match and ready to push and grab all three points. We know they are a difficult team to play against away from home, we respect our opponent but we are going to play with our gameplay and get all three points”, he explained.
He called on the fans to rally behind the team and to give their best support to the boys to give them the desired results.
Lamin Bangura the head coach of Ports Authority FC said the match is going to be a difficult one, many Football Fans normally called it to be an Eastern derby when Port Authority FC lock horns with East End Lions and that atmosphere has always been there from back in the 80’s to the present days.
“We have held our last training session the boys are physically, mentally, and Psychologically, we have respect for our opponent and we know that they have a good technical squad that can cause problems for the opponent team, but my boys are more than ready to face East End Lions FC”, he narrated.
He added that they want to hold on to their current position in the league after the six consecutive draws in the Premier League.
“I have instructed my boys that if we are not winning, we should not leap down again the Premier League”, he stated.
Lamin Bangura said the hype of the match has hit the fans of Port Authority FC, the intensity of the match off the pitch which has been visible by many fans with lots of expectations from both fans of the two teams, noting that the team is working on a transition period after that the team will be ready to face the big teams in Sierra Leone.
At the Bo Mini Stadium, Bo Rangers will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League when hosting Freetonians SLIFA.
Freetonian SLIFA has failed to record a win over the failure of their two previous meetings.
The Visitors are setting 9th and will a win will close the gap on Bai Warriors and Port Authority FC who sit fifth and sixth respectively in the log
Freetonians SLIFA Assistant Coach 1, Abdul Karim Timbo said even though they are expecting a tough match against the reigning Champions, however, expressed confidence in his side winning.
Alhaji Foray the head coach of Bo Rangers said the match against Freetonians SLIFA is decisive adding that his boys are mentally and physically prepared ahead of the clash on Saturday.
At the Angola Town Might Blackpool will welcome Freetown City Council on Monday, the Tis tas boys defeated FC Johansen by (2-1) to keep the pressure on Bo Rangers and will hope to continue their good form against the Freetown City Council team.
