JMFA U-15 team will meet reigning champions Young Biko in the final of the Lamin Nooran tournament slated for 16 July 2011 at the Manneh Sillah Memorial Football Field in Lamin.
After what officials referred to as some thrilling matches in the group stage of the campaign, this year’s Nooran is inching closer to the final game as the two most impressive teams set the stage for the weekend’s big clash that promises to produce a scintillating final with some big prizes up for grab.
JMFA U-15 defeated Bamba Dinka FC 3-2 on post-match penalties in the first semi-final played on Saturday 2 July on their way to the highly anticipated final.
JMFA first took the lead in the 4th minute of the game through Baboucarr Joof before the tournament’s current top goal-scorer Ebrima Suso levelled the score in the 32nd minutes resulting in penalty kicks.
The other semi-final match saw last year’s champions Young Biko Bakau edge pass debutant
Manneh’s strike was all but enough to send the last year’s champions to their third consecutive Lamin Nooran final. That match was played on Wednesday 6 July 2011 at the Lamin Football field.
These two teams (JMFA U15 and Young Biko) have met twice in this tournament over the last two years with Young Biko prevailing over JMFA U15 thanks to a 2-0 win and a pulsating 1-1 draw respectively.
The biggest challenge the tournament is faced with, according to the controller of the annual Nooran football championship Yahya Manneh, is purely due to lack of sponsorship. Despite the odds, Manneh is confident that the tournament will be staged every year.
“I will do everything possible, with the support of my fellow committee members, to go ahead with the final with or without sponsors,” Manneh says.
He used the opportunity to call on all football enthusiasts to come forward and help in sponsoring the tournament, which is seven years old this year.
It would be recalled that in the 2010 edition, the winners went home with D5000, while the runners-up collected D4500. The leading goal-scorer collected D500, while the player of the year 2010 also went home with D500.
