Team Bissa on Wednesday gave off a triumphant arrival into the ongoing Zongo Inter-Tribal Gala ( ZIG) with a dramatic 3-2 penalty shootout win over a stubborn Chokosi side after a frenetic 1-1 draw.
It was their first game in the knockout competition and the winner had to be decided only when the last kick was perfectly slotted into the net.
Both teams lost their first two penalties and but it was the Bissas who went on to score their last three after their Chokosi counterpart again had missed their third kick.
Faisal Alhassan, the Bissa Goalkeeper, who doubles as the skipper of the side, saved two penalties to allow the men in Black to win the match from the spot.
The first kicks of both sides went off target but it was the crossbar which denied the Bissa’s 2nd.
The Chokosis scored their 4th and the 5th kicks and they knew the defining moment had arrived when Bissa’s Yussif Ali Dabre stepped forward take the 10th kick.
He neatly converted it with power and precision and the Chokosi Goalkeeper had absolutely no answer to that.
It was a thrilling contest that saw the Bissas coming from a goal down to push to the game into a penalty shootout.
The Chokosis got their noses in front through a spotkick and held on till the end of the first half.
Their 25th minutes lead looked too good to demoralise the Bissas but it turned out to be a call for action, which brought out the Zekula spirit in them for a squarely response.
However, Bissa’s Coach Sulley Rush and his assistant Nurudeen backed by his backroom staff such as Sannie Mohammed and Faisal Idi Gamel, had other ideas.
They came into party with determination and were too hot for the Chokosis to handle.
They deservingly grabbed the equaliser in the 60th minute but near misses in goal meelees deferred their victory outside regulation time while their fans sat on tentahooks.
They played as a compact team with a ferocious attack, supported by a resilient midfield quartet and backed by an impregnable defensive set up.
There was “Zekula” in their play and the resultant “panga” became too heavy for the Chokosis to handle, as they succumbed to the incessant Bissa pressure.
On three occasions the bar came to rescue of the Chokisis as bisssas kept firing from all cylinders in search of the match winner which never came at the end of the 90 minutes.
The Chokosis were good but the Bissas were better and it manifested in the penalty shootout where they scored 3 out of five, one more than what the eventual losers had.
It was a different atmosphere on Wednesday as a large crowd thronged to the Kanda Cluster of Schools park to rally behind their teams.
Expectations were high on the Bissas after paying a courtesy call on the Greater Accra Bissa Chief for his blessings.
And they lived up to the billing with a spirited performance that ensured they live to fight another day.
It was the 8th match of the the 18-team competition, which is being organised to foster unity among tribes in the Zongo communities.
With the victory over the Chokosis, the stage is set for the Quarter-Final clash between the Bissas and the Zabarmas, who had earlier defeated the Dandawas by 3-0.
Congratulations to the team
Bissa all the way