Africa-Press – South-Sudan. In the first semifinal encounter of the South Sudan Cup in zone two, James Taban of Jebel Koteen scored a hat trick to demolish nine-man Melekia FC (Torit) yesterday.
Jebel Koteen FC, who were considered underdogs, took the lead in the 33rd minute through their captain, Mumasir Abdallah. The goal separated the two teams in the first half.
A Melekia FC defender received a strict red card in the 40th minute for a bad tackle against an opponent. The defender could have only received a yellow card, but he kicked out at the striker, claiming he was acting.
Halftime ended 1-0 to the Kapoeta boys as Torit’s Melekia ended the first half with 10 men thanks to Koteen’s captain for putting the mallets in the fort.
The Koteen went back into the second half with high morale as they know what it means to play against 10 men.
Jebel Koteen responded with three quick goals in the space of 15 minutes. Melekia were disappointed in front of their own fans as a result of the goals.
In the 55th minute, Tethloach Thor hammered in a very cool finish from their playmaker, Chikidii Kong.
Just some three minutes later, Melekia’s defender brought down Abdallah outside the 18th box. Chikidii Kong, one of the best players so far in the competition could not afford to squander such a golden opportunity, which he had correctly placed behind Wahida’s net to make it 3-0.
Melekia was shown another red card after what seemed like an intentional foul off the ball after James Taban’s two goals in the 59th and 69th minutes.
Taban added another goal in the 79th minute before Moses Ekua’s 89th minute’s goal. Jebel Koteen now leads in the first game comfortable on a 7-0 aggregate.
The two teams meet on Tuesday, where Malakia must win 8-0 against Koteen Boys to advance to the next round, but the game appears to be over for Kapoeta giants.
Elsewhere, Juba’s Champions Amarat United beat Bor’s Super Stars 4-3 in a narrow win. Bor’s boys need to work hard to overcome the first results.
Both teams are expected to play their second leg on Tuesday at Buluk Ground.
Jebel Koteen came as a sub-local football association from Kapoeta in Eastern Equatoria State and has played more games than any other local FA.
They played Nasery FC of Mundri twice, winning them all, and advanced to the next level to meet the other sub-local FA, Terekeka Wehida.
The boys beat Mundri Boys 3-1 in the first game, while the return match ended 2-0 in favour of Jebel Koteen.
They also played two games against Terekeka’s side. Wehida won the first game 2-0, while the last game ended in a 2-2 draw.
Melekia played only one side against Western Equatoria’s giants, the Yambio Stars.
Melekia FC bounced back from a slim 3-4 defeat to Yambio Star FC to clinch a convincing 3-1 win against the latter in the South Sudan Cup 2021/2022. The scores ensured that Melekia progressed to the next stage of the tournament.
Amarat United won both matches. The first game ended 3-1 in favour of the home boys, while the return leg ended 4-1; the result sending Bentiu Olympic home.
Amarat FC advanced to the next stage with a 2-7 aggregate.
Meanwhile, Super Stars of Bor knocked out Yei’s Ester FC, winning both games by 1 goal to nothing.
Whoever wins from today’s four teams will be waiting for the winners of zones one and three.
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