Monrovia- The Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium outside Monrovia was a scene of joys when the Liberia National Team, Lonestar defeated the leone star of Sierra Leone three goals to one (3-1).

Some Liberians Sports have started analyzing the game. Among those analyzing the game, is long time football analyst and writer, Wleh Bedell who is very knowledgeable of Liberian footballers and games. Mr. Bedell has posted on social media saying:

“It was a thrilling contest at the SKD as new Coach Peter James Butler from Britain led his Lone Star charges as they triumphed over a defensively messy Leone Stars of Sierra Leone in front a full house with President George Manneh Weah in the stands celebrating with the fans especially after the Lone Star netted the cushion goal which was the third to send the stadium in a frenzy.”

He said Songs like *Born to Win”, arguably president Weah ‘s favourite, saw jubilation after United States based forward Sam Johnson profited from a lack of communication from the visitors center back and goalkeeper as he played the ball in an unguarded net.

But, in the match that saw the Lone Star being adventurous and deadly upfront, scoring three goals which last happened here at home on October 7, 2006 when Liberia netted three goals at home against Rwanda in a 3-2 win at the ATS in the African Cup of Nations Qualifiers,

However, when one is keen on hearing the same scoreline of 3-1 from a Lone Star perspective, then the pages will have to be flipped as far back as October 13, 2015 when William Jebor hat trick away to Guinea Bissau saw the Lone Star win 3-1 in a World Cup qualifier.

Here are the Lessons:
Attack Minded Side
The team scored two penalties and a goal from open play. This shows that the team was attack minded, very positive upfront in a 4-3-3 formation that perhaps have said to the overused 4-4-2 formation. The team had options in the attack with the Malaysian based Kpah Sherman leading the the line as the target man and the duo of Sam Johnson and Terrence Tisdell playing wide and got their names on the score sheet.

New Boy Hillberg Has Settled
The debutant Kanten Hillberg from Sweden stamped his authority on the match as his work rate, precision passing and over all influence on the match proves he will be an asset for the Lone Star as he showed no sign of fear or lapse on the international scene and was no doubt a joy to watch.

Plenty of Penetration
One problem with previous Lone Star teams was the lack of penetration or thru balls to the forwards, but in Wednesday’s duel, the strikers were well fed as the balls from the likes of Oscar and Hellsberg provided the ammunition upfront.

Kpah Has Settled
This was Kpah Sherman ‘s best match for the Lone Star. Playing as the center forward in the absence of Jebor, the forward tormented the visitors, created chances and his runs were a handful to the opponents. Caused a penalty for the first goal, and was somehow unlucky to score on the day.

Crosses Still a Problem
One major undoing for the Lone Star defense was their inability to deal with crosses. The Sierra Leoneans mostly played from the wings as their crosses especially for the right channel went across the face of the Lone Star goal consistently with their goal coming from the wing as well.

Defensive Pair Questionable
The defensive Pair of Teah Dennis and Alvin McCornel was literally poor in their performance as they surprisingly lacked understanding. McCornel especially lacked belief as he just played long balls upfront, neglecting build up play, and his balls were meaningless. The two players combination was poor on the day and a lot needs to be done in this area.

Sam Johnson Useful as Center forward
The pacey Sam Johnson who operated from a wide area but often drifted inside is indeed a center forward where he will be more threatening and will net more goals. He has the hunger, desire, pace, aggression and finishing instinct to cause havoc to any defense on a given day.

Strength In Depth
With the substitutions made by Coach Butler all proving effective, it shows that the Lone Star this time round have strength in depth,, simply meaning the team has a rich bench will players brought on being impactful.

The lively Tonia Tisdell and hard working Mohamed Sangari came early and midway in the second half as they ignited the game and with deadly finisher Christopher Jackson coming on late, just proves the point that there are options on the bench except that Solari Nimely from all the way Russia was surprisingly left on the bench for the entire 90 minutes.

Congratulations Lone Star. He concluded his analysis.