By Dadson A Musa

The other day, celebrated football icon, Mohamed Kallon made it clearer that Bo Rangers is the best team in Sierra Leone. He may not have said ‘at present,’ but it is my hope that such was what he actually meant. In one of our recent magazines, our Managing Editor, Sheku Putka Kamara presented a solid case for the team. Among other things, he touched on the team’s luck, ability and strength and maybe the biggest push is the team’s financial stability. Without a doubt therefore, with what Babadi Kamara has done and is still doing, it is not entirely surprising to see that the team is making the news for all the right reasons.

At a CAF preliminary round of match in the Southern Arena on Saturday 17^th August 2024, San Pedro F.C. of Ivory Coast locked horns with Bo Rangers. It was the second time that Bo Rangers F.C. is taking part in a continental competition of this nature. The first one saw the team losing out in the preliminary rounds. And the southern-based club has been the team to watch due to heavy pouring of financial and material resources. In a match that started out flatly, both teams tried very hard to contain each other. Bo Rangers, as the match went on had a slight advantage probably due to the home crowd and Musa Tombo had a goal disallowed in the first half due to an infringement on the law in the 30^th minute of play. The first half ended goalless with the crowd firmly behind the Sierra Leonean team.

The second half resumed in a sunny August afternoon as Bo Rangers took the game to the visitors which paid off as Mohamed Lamin scored in the 48^th minute with an assist from Musa Tombo. The match really came to life after the goal as we began seeing entertaining football. Bo Rangers had other clear-cut chances saved by the San Pedro goalkeeper. Sad, they sat back in an attempt to defend the one goal and prevent the Ivorian side from scoring. This tactic did not seem to work as the Ivorian side had field day using the flanks and having the ball for the most part of the second half. And for ten minutes they dominated play in every department as goal keeping, defense, midfield and attack were very good. Early substitutions also helped the Ivory side to change their game plan and worked very hard in securing an equalizer in the. The hard work of the Ivorian side paid off with an equalizer in the 73rd. minute through Stephan Bedi. Bo Rangers became clue-less with the Ivorians still pushing for more although a last-gasp move was made by the team to secure a win which never materialized. San Pedro had the last laugh as the match ended with a scoring draw (1 all). It has left Bo Rangers with an uphill task as they have to play the return leg in about a week’s time in Ivory Coast. Many fans and the country at large felt very disappointed with the home draw. Speaking to the press after the match, John Keister, head coach of Bo Rangers sounded optimistic and thus reiterated that “my team still has a chance” and seemed pleased with the performance.

But as we all know it, skill luck and strength are things that define the game and so anything could happen and as the patriots would have it, all the best to Bo and Bo Rangers!