Liberia’s Cephas On The Move

Liberia’s Cephas On The Move

Liberian international, McColm Cephas is at a new club. The player is on loan with the Virginia Beach Mariners, in the United States Soccer League where he will play out his contract. Cephas has honored two of his three seasons with the Richmond Kickers before the deal.

The player takes to his new club with plenty of experience and a superb characteristic as a hard worker having established himself as one of the league’s top marksmen with a series of powerful displays that have not gone unnoticed across America.

Many of the coaches have said the player has extraordinary skills, combining pace with some of the best foot and head works they’ve seen.

With this, officials and coaches of his new club could not contain their delight at the deal which sent Cephas to the Mariners. The team’s website has described the player’s presence in the line-up as a “potent force” for the club’s frontline.

“His speed and his technical skill will work very well with the players we have and he adds even more USL playoff experience to our squad.’” Mike McCann, Managing Director said of the player.

The managing Director quoted the club’s coach, Jay Hoffman as saying that the player “adds another dimension to our attack”.

In his first season with the Richmond Kickers in 2004, Cephas hit a milestone when he earned both a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the Virginia Commonwealth University and also clinched the league’s Rookie of the year title. All that, came at the back of a glittering performance during the season when he led his club with 12 goals. He was particularly credited for scoring the most game-winning goals on the team and was ranked in the top 10 scorers in the league.

In 2003, McColm led VCU and the CAA with 17 goals, this after a year where he finished second on the team with 18 points and led VCU with 60 shots. While playing for Richmond Kickers Future (PDL) in 2003 Cephas scored eight goals in 11 games.

After spectacular showings in 2004, the player ended the season on a high note when he scored a brace that eliminated MLS giant, DC United from the US Open Cup competition. That heroic performance also sent shockwaves down the spines of his opponents. And his British coach as well as his teammates could not contain their delight at the player’s fantastic feat as it caused a real stir in American football circles.

The player has also featured at least three times for his native Liberia notably against Zambia and one of Africa’s most fancied sides, Senegal in the joint African Nations Cup and World Cup qualifiers in 2005.

The Richmond Kickers’ coach Leigh Carlishaw had said that he looked forward to seeing the Liberian striker play for top European clubs including Manchester United, Chelsea or Barcelona.

Said Leigh, “Cephas has extra ordinary ability and possesses some of the qualities that will boost his chances with any club. “He’s got blazing speed and has eyes for goals”.

He added further “as we all know, if someone is going to put the ball at the back of the net on a regular basis, he’s going to get the attention of bigger and better teams”.

“Cephas is a fine Example for Liberia and I have watched him develop over the years in College. He has some individual flair. But he certainly has no eagle, he worked extremely hard, he has a great passion for the game and above all, he’s a team player”, he noted.

He pointed out “all you need to do is to put the ball to his feet so that he can turn and face any defender”.

Cephas had moved to his Kickers and his Alma Mater in 2003 after two years at Atlanta’s Morehouse College, the Alma mater of the late America Civil Rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr.