JONES MAKES HISTORY WITH LIBERTY (GRAPHIC SPORTS, BACK PAGE)

Last Sunday Coach Sir Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, made history at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi when he added his name to the list of coaches who have won gold since the Top 4 tournament was introduced a few years ago.
The master tactician who has carved a niche for himself, as far as the winning of medals locally and internationally is concerned, was on top of his job when he invaded Kumasi for the second time in the 2008 Glo Top 4 tournament with his dancing boys.
Before the Sunday, October 26, 2008 grand finale Glo Top 4 tournament encounter, both Liberty and Kotoko had clashed on two occasions since the tournament got underway.
While Liberty trounced Kotoko 2-1 at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium when the two teams met the first time, Kotoko failed to glitter at their home base at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium during the second leg by allowing Liberty to hold them to a pulsating 1-1 draw.
Incidentally, Liberty were always the first to score as it happened in Accra and Kumasi on the two occasions that they met.
The grand finale was, therefore, an opportune time for Kotoko to make amends by forcing a bitter pill down the throat of Liberty by not only letting them score first, but also win the game outright.
This was to pacify their fans who were becoming a bit disturbed about the dominance of Liberty over Kotoko so far as this year’s Glo Top 4 tournament was concerned, but that was not to be as Liberty glittered more and carried the giant trophy away to Dansoman after succeeding in inflicting a fatal wound on the Porcupine warriors.
Prior to the game both Liberty and Kotoko were set to make history. While Kotoko were seeking to make history by retaining the cup they won last year, Liberty were more determined to win it for the first time to make a name for themselves.
Baba Yara Stadium, therefore, became the battle ground for the two clubs and notwithstanding the late start of the game, the fans were there as usual to offer the needed support, and at the end of the game it was Liberty's determination and the strategy of their coach that won them the trophy.
In goalkeeping, Daniel Adjei was totally unbeatable as he succeeded in saving the best shots that Kotoko delivered and was my man of the match.
On one occasion, Daniel Adjei had to come out of his post to deny Eric Bekoe a glorious opportunity and then dashed into the post to prevent another attacker from lobbing the ball into the net .
The bravado caused him to clash with an attacker, forcing him to receive a brief medical treatment. But that did not stop him from making other daring saves.
It was, therefore, his sheer bravado, good anticipation and effective reflexes that eventually won Liberty the day because his goalkeeping prowess denied Kotoko the needed equaliser and possibly the winner.
The defeat of Kotoko could also be attributed to the inability of their attackers and midfielders to convert set pieces and other goal-scoring opportunities that came their way.
In the first half Kotoko had as many as four set pieces besides the numerous corner kicks that came their way.
The corner kicks awarded Kotoko, together with the numerous set pieces which were at the edge of the box of their opponents, showed the attacking prowess of Kotoko during the game.