Lone Star away draw to Namibia was first in 15 years


By Wleh Bedell
bedellblessing@yahoo.com
+2316106293


The Lone Star of Liberia stunned the form book in qualifying for the final round of the 2013 AFCON to be held in South Africa. The team achieved the feat after a stalemate with the Brave Warriors of Namibia away on June 16.

Under the tutelage of Joseph kaetu Smith, the team qualified on a 1-0 aggregate after the first leg ended in a solitary goal margin in Monrovia with much of the credit of the team's qualification going to former caretaker coach Thomas 'Tommy T' Kojo who guided the team in winning the first leg tie.

The Lone Star have been termed poor traveler since the end of the George Weah era as the team prior to the 0-0 draw to Namibia on Saturday, June 16, went without a draw least one speaks of a win in 19 competitive matches from September 8, 2002 in the 0-3 loss to Guinea's Sylla Nationale in Conakry in the 2004 AFCON qualifier to the 1-3 hammering by Senegal's Lion Teranga in Dakar in a 2014 World Cup qualifier on June 2, 2012.

But, the draw away to Namibia on last Saturday is the team's first away draw since February 23, 1997 in a competitive fixture. On such date, the Lone Star held the Taifa Stars of Tanzania to a gutsy 1-1 draw with the then burly front man Jonathan 'Boye Charles' Sogbie getting the goal for the nation's pride and joy in a 1998 qualifier.

This may seem surprising to many, but that's the fact as the Lone Star even during the famous Weah Eleven mainly from 2000-2002 did not draw a competitive game away as they either won or loss a match as far as qualification is concerned and not finals like the Mali 2002 (such is out of the discussion).

Thus, it has taken the Lone Star 15 years and one hundred and six days to record its first away draw. Something that can be described as a record breaking feat. It can be recollected that the Lone Star on their first visit to Namibia in a 1998 AFCON qualifier drew with their opponents 0-0 on January 11, 1997 in a match the red, white and blue outfit paraded a completely local based side.