Super Eagles and Ghana FC are set to face in what will be a highly-anticipated finals rematch after winning over their counterparts in the semifinals of the continuing Season 3 of Philam Life 7s Football League at the McKinley Hill Stadium.
In what was a tight affair, Ghana FC scored the marginal goal in the game's last few minutes to squeak past Bohemian SC, 1-0.
With Coach Ayi Bimbo desperately looking for a score, he turned to Asare David who converted just in time in what was a rocket of an attempt in the second half. His trust in his super sub paid dividends once again, citing him as the team's game-changer.
"It was really a tight game. All of us had chances and it was really hard work. We're not hitting the back of the net. I called on Asare David and he changed the game. Last shot, he made it from long-range. And again, he's done it. All credit goes to him," said Coach Ayi Bimbo.
On the other side of the bracket, defending two-time champions Super Eagles continued their dominance by beating Delimondo-Laro FC 4-1. After scoring two unanswered goals in the first half behind Ebere Ogochukwu and Femi Ogurinde, the Super Eagles didn't take their foot off the gas pedal with Ebere completing brace in the second half while Charles Ujam scoring one more.
Confidence remains high for the defending champions, and they insist that there's no pressure on their side despite having huge targets on their backs.
"Today, we're so happy because we've accomplished it. Whatever happens in the Finals, we'll be happy. Everything for today was expected, they played hard and we were just ready for them today. We're just better than them today," said Coach Danny Kross.
"Coming into the league, I said that we're going to be champions. Our confidence here is high and we believe so much on our guys because they're so good. When we go out there in the field, they just needed to follow the coach. And when we click, no one can stop us," added Coach Prince Eze Ogochukwu.
With Ghana F.C. slated to face Super Eagles once again, the Ayi Bimbo-mentored squad is expected to pull all the stops to finally get over the hump against the defending champions.
"If we keep that same positivity, we'll get a [good] result. We've forgotten about our loss last year and we're going to get the trophy this time. Trust me," said Asare David.
"They might think that it's going to be easy, but they don't know what we're planning. This time, we've already recovered from last season's defeat and we know what we need to do get them," added Bimbo.
In the Philam Life 7s Women's Football League, the lower-seeded teams wielded the upset ax by edging their counterparts in the semifinals to move one win away from making history.
Match Day no. 8 for the women's division featured Stallion-Hiraya F.C. and Outkast F.C. prevailing over top-seeded teams in Bohemian S.C. and Manila Nomads.
Stallion-Hiraya F.C. got off to a good start by outscoring Bohemian S.C., 2-1, in the first half. And it was the same story in the second half as forwards Miel Ampil and Camille Rodriguez added on to their goal total and never looked back from there.
Using the overall experience and familiarity with each other, Stallion-Hiraya F.C. is currently peaking at the right time, especially after having a slow start during the eliminations.
"I think the advantage that we had is that we played with each other for so many years. We're all very familiar with each and this makes a stronger as a team. The difficulty was showing up [at first], but in the last few games, we've been consistent. We've been more familiar how each other plays. We can adjust to different lineups now compared to the start," said Miel Ampil.
Outkast F.C.'s sizzling start in the first half proved to be all the difference in winning their semis tiff against Manila Nomads, 2-1.
The team poured in two goals at the start while keeping Nomads scoreless in the first half. Manila Nomads tried to mount a comeback late, but Outkast F.C.'s defense was too much to handle for them.
Team manager Keuts Smith admittedly didn't expect her team to come this far, but they are more than willing to embrace the challenge in trying to win the championship at the expense of Stallion-Hiraya F.C.
In the 7s Youth League, it was Sugod Malaya, Bohemian, and Kaya C who triumphed in their respective divisions.
Kaya C posted wins against G8 (2-0), and Kaya B (4-1), while Sugod prevailed against Kaya A (6-0) and Mondo (2-0) in the U5 division.
In the U7 division, Sugod A ended two wins and a draw, while Sugod B notched wins against G8 (2-0) and Mondo (10-3).
Bohemian posted clean sheets against San Lo FC (1-0), Marista (4-0), and Sugod B (3-0) in the U9 division.