By: Alusine Rehme Wilson
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| Bombali Sebora Acting Head Coach |
Having controversially failed to advance from the National First Division Playoff in the last two seasons, Makeni based first division side Bombali Sebora Football Club are on intensive preparation for their double header against former Sierra Leone Premier League side Golden Dragons Football Club in the North East Region Football Association (NERFA) Semi-Final tie.
AWE-Media Sierra Leone's Alusine Rehme Wilson recently visited the team’s at their Wusum Stadium practising ground and interviewed the officials and the assistant skipper of Bombali Sebora Football Club about their preparedness for their crucial NERFA semi-final games against Golden Dragons of Magburaka.
During the interviewer, Sidikie “Braboss” Mansaray, a former Sierra Leonean International who’s famous for his goal against Nigeria in Freetown 23 years ago when Sierra Leone beat Nigeria 1-0 in a 2002 World Cup Qualifiers, and currently serves as the acting Head coach of Bombali Sebora confirmed his team’s readiness to excel, saying: “We’re fully ready to impress against Golden Dragons to sail through the NERFA grand finals to confirm our space in upcoming National First Division Playoff enroot to the Sierra Leone Premier League for the first time.”
The optimistic Mansaray says his team understands their opponents playing style and besides they’re not new opponents of theirs. “We played Golden Dragons twice in this same regional division one when we were in the same group, and to be drawn against them again by the organisers doesn’t worry us,” he asserts confirming no injury worries in his team which makes him upbeat to qualify to the national playoff which will also serve as the regional playoff to the 2024/25 Sierra Leone Premier League.
Coach Mansaray’s sentiments were re-echoed by Joseph Conteh, the Technical Director of Bombali Sebora who also confirmed the team’s “long preparations for the qualifiers.” According to Conteh they’ve put behind their earlier concern about pairing them against their group second place team Golden Dragons citing that “the organizers said their decision is to allow one team to qualify from each group.”
Asked if they had learned their lessons from their last two attempts to qualify to the Sierra Leone Premier League, the Bombali Sebora Technical Director said “Yes, we’ve learned our lessons and have corrected them as we move forward to show our best both regionally and nationally.”
He concludes with a public plea to the football family in Makeni, the North East Region and Sierra Leone to support his team as they continue their journey undeterred to qualify for next season’s national men’s top-tier.
On his part, Michel Pain, the Goalkeeper and Assistant Skipper of Bombali Sebora who was part of the squad that controversially failed to qualify in the last two national playoff after they won the inaugural edition of North East Region Men’s Super-Ten and the 2022/23 NERFA Division One Playoff reaffirmed his confidence over his teammates, saying “to be honest, I trust my team that we’ll advance from the semis to progress to the next national first division playoff.”
Pain revealed that although he’s a bit disappointed that they’ve been drawn against the same opponents, he’s “not worried.” He said: “Our last performance in Kenema and Kono during the 2021/2022 and 2022/23 National Division One Playoff have prepared us the best way to qualify to the next Sierra Leone Premier League, I’m just requesting for more support from our fans to continue to believe in us as we continue our journey to the national top-tier,” he conclusively pleaded.
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