David Tagoe
13 June 2011
From the throes of self-pity and moroseness, following his dithering to deal with a goal-bound kick in the second half of Nania F/C’s MTN FC Cup semifinal encounter with uncrowned Glo Premier League Champions, Berekum Chelsea, yesterday, goaltender Michael Sai emerged the superhero of the day, when his last penalty kick secured Abedi Pele’s team, Pride of Paga, their ticket to play in the final of the resuscitated MTN FA Cup competition.
Sai’s decision not to fist that goal-bound shot out of play, but rather push it back into play, saw danger man Bismark Idan tapping the ball home to give Berekum Chelsea a 2-1 lead, with just a few minutes of playing time left.
What marked the beginning of Michael Sai’s sobs was jubilation for Idan and his Chelsea colleagues. But, in one moment of twisted fate, Bismark Idan found himself trading places with Michael Sai.
With a few minutes left for play, Bismark Idan appeared to be the man whose goal had placed Chelsea on the brink of their anticipated double, after rising head and shoulders above all to annex the Glo Premier League title.
In what was obviously an admission of a blunder on his part, the Nania F/C goalie could not help sobbing after conceding that avoidable goal.
His prayer had been for a miracle to take place, and it did. Nania F/C had raced deep into the area of Chelsea. A foul was committed at the edge of the box, and they were deservedly awarded a free kick.
Michael Sai went down on his knees to supplicate God. And in what was a perfect answer to his prayer, Prince Baffoe, who elected himself for the kick, bent the ball over and above the human wall, and it zoomed straight into the net, sending Nania F/C fans into a state of ecstasy.
Ahead of the tie, Nania F/C had vowed to inch themselves into the history books, by beating the yet-to-be crowned league champions to qualify for the final, but they were the side that rather went down, following a goalmouth scrimmage. But they managed to find the equaliser through Prince Baffoe, who was elected man of the match.
When the game was heading towards a 1-1 draw, after almost 120 minutes of grueling football, in which Nania F/C proved their mettle as a crack side not overawed by the status of Chelsea as uncrowned league champions, a kick from the right, across the face of the goal, saw another hit towards the Nania F/ C post, but goalkeeper Michael Sai dealt with the ball in an indecisive manner, despite some aid from the upright, which did not prove helpful enough, as the ball went back into play and was floated once more into the Nania area. Bismark Idan was at the right spot at the right time, and tapped the ball home, giving Chelsea a 2-1 lead.
A minute to end it all was the defining moment for Nania. A free kick in the Chelsea area was curled into the net by Prince Baffoe to secure parity for Nania, sending the game into the penalty shootout to determine the first semi finalist.
Skipper Lawrence Lartey set the tone for Nania’s victory, when he converted his kick, followed by Nuhu Salifu, Yusif Babamu and Prince Baffoe, while Alfred Arthur, Paul Aidoo and Yaw Alexander converted for Chelsea, but the man, who nearly sent them into the final, ended up being the one whose kick denied them qualification, when Michael Sai brilliantly saved his kick, and took the decisive kick that made their last kick irrelevant.
Having made it to the final of the MTN FA Cup, Nania F/C now lie in ambush waiting for the winner of the Kotoko-Medeama S/C semifinal clash.
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