By Danesius Marteh, archie2024@gmail.com
Frederick Dennis put up a man of the match performance as FC Fassell were held to a 1-1 draw by Jeshi la Kujenga Uchumi Sports Club (JKU) at the Jewel Sports Park in Cairo, Egypt on 22 August.
Dennis was the chef for the opening goal as his square pass was intercepted by Emmanuel Bunipele, who expertly eliminated three defenders before he was fouled in the 18-yard box.
Striker Mark ‘Bigmanshot Juwle’ Yallah converted the resultant penalty to give Fassell the lead going to the break.
Dennis, on trials with his former club, barely trained for two days before the friendly but he was a handful for his opponents and a delight to watch by the fans and would be teammates.
There was an applause for the former Tony FC midfielder in a mesmerizing performance when he effortlessly eliminated three opponents in a triangular shape with a back and forth turn with the ball at his feet.
Dennis is in his third season with second division side Al-Hilal Al-Dabaa in Egypt, having played in Sudanese top-tier side Al Merrikh Omdurman.
Englishman Peter Butler gave him his debut for Liberia in a 2-0 defeat to Egypt in an international friendly at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria on 30 September 2021.
And his performance against JKU, who equalized thru Mudrik Abdi Shehe, should hasten a deal before the season kicks-off in October.
The Zanzibar Premier League champions are in Egypt for a CAF Champions League preliminary round with Pyramids FC, having lost the first leg 6-0 at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo on 18 August with a brace for Mohanad Lasheen.
And head coach Salum Ali Haji was pleased with their performance ahead of the return leg in Cairo on 24 August at 17:00GMT (8:00PM local time) with JKU having waved their home advantage aimed at gaining international experience.
“We conceded our first goal after eight minutes and then three more before half time. So this is a big improvement considering that we played the same players who are going to play against our next opponents.
“We know it is going to be difficult [against Pyramids] to qualify but we want to win and anything is possible in football. We gave a good account of ourselves today and we want to do the same in the second game,” said Hani.
Belgian coach Ivan Minnaert gave a mixed reaction to Fassell’s performance and what to expect in subsequent friendlies.
“We played a good game today with a dominating performance. We led for much of the game before the equalizer. So I am pleased with the performance because we didn’t start with our first eleven players.
“Of course, that’s not an excuse because we want to give everyone some minutes during this pre-season. Our opponents were good with long balls and a bit physical and we also pressed them hard up.
“We will certainly play our first eleven in our next friendly that we are arranging. We will continue with our preparations tomorrow to complete the first week. Hopefully, the remaining 11 players will join us when we start our second week,” said Ivan.
6-Emmanuel Reyah, 11-Emmanuel Bunipele, 13-Edwin Gbangan, 16-Sekou Kamara, 18-Peter Sorbor, 19-Amos Diamagyie, 22-Armah Moore (goalie), 24-Solomon Grimes (captain), 27-Musa Jabateh, 28-Frederick Dennis and 30-Mark Yallah started but only Armah, Frederick, Emmanuel and Sekou continued in the second half before they were subsequently substituted