Kadallah Kromah Goes Underground For Safety
The embattled Lone Star coach
( in Blue), whose resignation has been reported from his hiding
place
Julu M. Johnson, Jr.
The writings were on the wall, but the now former National soccer
team coach, Kadallah Kromah, apparently failed to acknowledge to see
and act upon them. So, at the end of the day, the end justified the
means.
The embattled Lone Star coach, whose resignation has been reported
from his hiding place, had failed to pay heeds to pleas from many
soccer followers who wanted matured players to be included on the
squad that played Senegal. Kelvin Sebwe and Oliver Makor, both based
in Greece, chose to come but Kromah rejected them saying, there were
too many midfielders available and that his concentration was in the
attack, where only one goal was scored in the first four matches.
The goal drought prompted Kromah to bring on board John Moses, from
Hungary, but paradoxically, Moses did not get a taste of the match
with Senegal.
The match with Senegal made it five the number of games the Liberian
Lone Star has played, with only one goal to account for in the joint
2006 African and World Cup qualifiers. The team remains second from
bottom with four points in Group One.
Since the anticipated result failed to come, angry fans did not only
damage properties of those believed to be innocent, but also they
descended on the coach s residence in Sinkor and damaged it. The
fans attempted burning Kromah s house but the move was reportedly
prevented by the UN peacekeepers.
While the entire inhabitants escaped the area for safety, Kromah s
aging mother, believed to be in her 80s, was not spared as the
hooligans assaulted her upon storming the compound of Kromah.
The coach has kept silent since the incident and has not been seen
in public, an indication that he may have gone into hiding amidst
threats from angry fans.
It is apparently from his hideout that Kromah made his decision to
resign. He is yet to be seen for comments.
After series of poor results, Sunday s match seemed ripe for the
Lone Star to get back into contention as the race was becoming too
close to call.
Coach Kromah placed his trust in 15 foreign-based players selected
from around Africa, Europe, Asia and the United States, but they let
him down. Liberia went into the match feeling that all was well, but
the 3-0 defeat to Senegal showed that the sore is yet to be healed.
Instead of just grumbling, angry Liberians took the law into their
own hands immediately after Senegal s first goal which Pape Bouba
Diop headed in, in the 42nd minute. The goal apparently demoralized
Liberia s chance of winning. The next two goals in the second half
by Henri Camara only added insult to injury.
The United States-based striker, McColm Cephas, was partly blamed
for the defeat, for failing (on three occasions) to make use of a
one-to-one situation with Senegalese goalkeeper Tony Sylva. He was
not harmed, same for the rest of the players. Cephas only complained
that his father s car was hit by objects.
The match referee suffered some of the fans reaction. They threw
empty cans and other objects at the heavily guarded referee.
By then, the Lone Star coach, Kadallah Kromah, had smelled the
ambush and found his way to the dressing room. There were
unconfirmed reports that the coach later escaped the city to safety
to the nearby County of Margibi.
Meanwhile, the President of the Liberia Football Association (LFA)
Counselor Izetta Wesley fell victim to the violence. The LFA-2
vehicle of Counselor Wesley was burnt, while her business center, No
Credit Spot in Saye Town, Sinkor was looted beyond recognition.
The Police Director of Liberia, Clarence Massaquoi, disclosed that
15 hooligans were arrested. He has suggested a halt to football
activities, although the Lone Star has already gone halfway into the
qualifiers.
The violence that followed the Sunday s match created a holiday at
the Liberian FA headquarters and the Sports Ministry on Monday.
Workers there feared that the hooligans would continue their
violence at the two offices.
Monrovia, however, has been calm since Monday, but the Lone Star s
3-0 defeat is the main topic of discussion in most gatherings.
Football authorities in the Country are yet to pronounce what they
would do next. |
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