The La McDan Park was buzzing with action over the weekend as the final zonal matches of the Onua-Atena Community League were completed on Saturday, followed by the quarter-finals on Sunday.
Zone D Decides Final Quarter-Finalists
The action in Zone D began with Gigolo Stars and Kotobabi Ebony Airforce 11 playing out a goalless draw. Kotobabi Ebony eventually prevailed 2-1 on penalties in a tightly contested encounter.
In the second match, Taifa Salvation FC edged Agbogba Suncity by a lone goal to set up a meeting with Airforce 11.
Nima then came from a goal down to defeat La Paz West Ham FC 2-1, while Addobetor Warriors completed the preliminary round with a 1-0 victory over Auntie Aku Monday Stars.
The second round produced more excitement, with Kotobabi Ebony and Taifa Salvation FC drawing 1-1 in a pulsating encounter. Taifa Salvation converted all five of their penalty kicks to win 5-4 and secure one of Zone D’s two quarter-final places.
Nima claimed the other ticket after scoring a late free kick to defeat Addobetor Warriors.
Quarter-Finals
A draw was held immediately after the zonal matches to determine the quarter-final fixtures.
Onua Group Head of Sports, Emmanuel Kwame Amoh, explained that teams from the same zone would be kept apart to ensure they could only meet at the semi-final stage at the earliest.
The draw produced the following pairings:
- Taifa Salvation FC vs Lashibi Community 17
- Ashongman Ashville FC vs La Coastal United
- Ashaiman Revelations vs Aworshia Movement (Anglican FC)
- Labone Heroes vs Nima
Taifa Salvation appeared to suffer from fatigue as Lashibi Community 17 raced into a 2-0 lead in the opening quarter-final.
Ashongman Ashville FC also advanced after defeating La Coastal United 2-1 on penalties following a goalless draw in regulation time.
The Ashaiman Revelations–Aworshia Movement fixture, however, ended in controversy. The late arrival of the Ashaiman side led the Teshie-based Aworshia Movement players to refuse to take the field.
After more than an hour of delays, organisers called off the match and disqualified both teams.
Mr Amoh subsequently announced that the best loser from the remaining quarter-final matches would join the winner of the Nima–Labone Heroes encounter in the semi-finals.
The Nima–Labone Heroes match ended goalless, with Nima winning on penalties. La Coastal United and Labone Heroes were then called onto the pitch for a play-off to determine the final semi-finalist.
Labone Heroes emerged victorious, joining Lashibi Community 17, Ashongman Ashville FC and Nima in the last four.
A draw is expected to be held on Wednesday to determine the semi-final pairings.
Source: 3news
