By: Mohamed Abu Conteh
There will be a celebratory atmosphere inside Adrar today evening when Sierra Leone host Sao Tome in the home side’s first first-lege tie.
It could be a significant one to mark the milestone too, with John Keister’s side needing six points in both legs to keep their hopes alive in qualifying for the 2023 African Cup of Nation at the Grand Stade Agadir also known as Adrar Stadium.
Both teams have shared two wins apiece in their previous four matches. Assistant Coach (one), Amidu Karim said that the encounter against ‘The Falcons and True Parrots’ will bring the best out of his team as they seek to get the first win of Group A.
Amidu Karim added: “We want to get our first three and let’s how the second leg will be in three-day after the first leg tie, so we must fight hard against the opponents,” he said. “Every match, we must commit ourselves fully to win”.
He added: “It is important that we select the best with a good blend of both home-based and foreign-based players.”
However, Queens Park Rangers defender, Osman Kakay and Mornar midfielder Rodney Michael have both been ruled out on both legs due to injuries.
East End Lions winger Prince Barrie and FC Johansen right Lamin Conteh will both replace Rodney Michael.
Whereas, the Leone Star’s team captain Steven Caulker has called on his colleagues to be mentally ready ahead of Wednesday and Sunday crunch ties against the ‘Falcons and True Parrots of Sao Tome of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nation qualifiers at the Grand Stade Agadir, Morocco.
He said the match today should be a must-win to keep their hopes alive in group A.
Steven said: “it’s a must-win game for us because if we must qualify, we should win these games.
“These are two important games against them and today is our first training session and the guys know the importance of these two matches”
Asked what he has told his colleagues ahead of these matches; he replied. “I don’t need to tell them much because every single player here knows how important these two matches are”.
He continued: “The coach gave us his message before the training and the match will not be easy but we just have to be mentally and physically ready for these matches”
“Unfortunately, we have suffered two big losses (Osman Kakay and Rodney) but that’s football. Rodney is coming to the squad lately and he is very quickly becoming a big player in our squad Osman Kakay has been with the squad for years.
“Both injuries are a big blow but the boys who’ve come in have shown today their quality and are more than able to replace these guys”.
“We’re expecting Sao Tome to put up a strong fight and come at us defiantly and I am sure we are going to see a different Sao Tome to the side that played against Nigeria”. He however called on Sierra Leoneans to be patient and pray for success ahead.
