In front a capacity
crowd, the coach Kadallah Kromah side employed their usual 3-4-3
formation as they dominated the proceedings, willy-nilly goalless.
The visitors were on the back foot for most part of the first
stanza, as their towering goalie Mandiaye Deiog stood between
their opponents and a break through.
The oil boys looked
positive as they began making inroads with their first attempt on
goal coming in the 5th minute through former Invincible Eleven
(IE) winger Opelo George. The player, who was playing a new role
as reserved or wide midfielder, burst in the attacking third, but
his cross cum shot was parried out for a corner agile goal keeper
Deiog.
The resultant corner
did not trouble the visitors, but the Oilers still pressed
forward. There were several attempts from the hosts with the best
effort coming after 17 minutes when an Isaac Tondo’s booming
header beat the on rushing goalie only to be saved by covering
defender Libasse Diaque who headed the ball in the path of his
goalkeeper.
The sleek Abraham
Karmo ran the show in midfield for Oilers, but the trident strike
force of Victor Nyanti, Abel Quiah and Isaac Tondo looked sterile
as there was little supply of passes to them. After 35 minutes, a
nice exchange of passes between George and Quiah caused some
anxious moments when the latter’s shot was dispositioned by the
goalie.
After the interval,
the visitors opened up as they became more adventurous with the
nerviest moment coming in the 71st minute when substitute Abel
Fau’s splashing header was saved by goalie Saydee Swen.
The miss of the day
however was from Abel Quiah in the 84th minute when he failed to
punish the Senegalese after been left all alone in the six yard
box with only the goalie to beat. The match thus ended goalless
with the return leg on March 5, 2006 in Dakar, Senegal.
