By Danesius Marteh, archie2024@gmail.com
It was the same familiar script and storyteller as Liberia were eliminated from the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers (Afcon).
Equatorial Guinea beat Liberia 2-1 at the Samuel Kanyon Doe sports complex stadium in Paynesville on 14 October on match day four.
For all the intent and purpose, the visitors were the better side and rightly took the lead in the 20th minute through Luis Asue of Moreirense.
William Gibson, who leveled the score in Lomé in September came to the rescue in the 53rd minute after a Divine Roosevelt Teah assist.
But a spirited Equatoguineans found the match winner against the run of play when goalie Abdulai Koulibaly and his defense were caught sleeping against the run of play.
Dorian Hanza profited from an assist from Basilio Ndong with an empty post at his mercy to find the match winner.
Victory means Liberia have not qualify for an Afcon final since 2002.
It also means Liberia Football Association (LFA) President Mustapha Raji is yet to oversee any national team’s qualification to a major final since his ascendency in September 2018.
Elsewhere in Group E, Borussia Dortmund defender Ramy Bensebaini scored the only goal as Algeria and five-time winners Cameroon sealed qualification with two games to spare, bringing the number of qualified teams to four.
Cameroon defeated Kenya 1-0 when Boris Enow scored the only goal of the game in neutral Kampala, Uganda.
Enow drilled a low free-kick into the goal from just outside the box as Cameroon dominated the contest and did enough to win in the absence of federation president Samuel Eto’o, who is serving a six-month stadium ban by Fifa.
The victory takes Cameroon to 10 points from four games in the pool and ensured they can’t finish outside of the top two, which is enough to secure a place at the 24-team finals.
Algeria have 12 points from four games after Bensebaini converted a penalty on 18 minutes to give them lead, but they had to weather heavy pressure from their hosts, who created enough chances to get something from the game.
Cameroon and Algeria joined the hosts and Burkina Faso as the four teams so far confirmed for the finals.
Zimbawe moved into a strong position in their pool with a 3-1 win over Namibia in Johannesburg that leaves them on eight points, four ahead of third-placed Kenya with two rounds to play. One of those fixtures is at home to Kenya next month.
Walter Musona scored a brace, one a penalty, to go with a strike from Prince Dube.
Equatorial Guinea are five points clear in second place in their pool after a 2-1 win over Liberia in Monrovia.
Musa Barrow scored the decisive goal for Gambia in their 1-0 victory over Madagascar, making up for a penalty miss earlier in the game.
Gambia move into second place in their pool, ahead of Comoros on head-to-head record, but having played a game more.