Thursday December 31, 2020
MOGADISHU (HOL) - Banaadir is the winner of the 2020 inter-state soccer competition after thrashing Galmudug state in a sensational and gripping final in Mogadishu.
The two teams equally measured to each other during the 90 minutes of the match forcing a penalty kick-out.
Galmudug lost all the first three kicks succumbing to Banaadir’s all straight goals in a match cheered on by thousands of football fanatics at Engineer Yarisow Stadium and followed on screens and online by Somalis across the globe.
Banaadir opened the lead with a score within the first few minutes of the match but Galmudug from central Somalia equalized towards the tail end of the first half.
There was a similar motion in the second half which saw Banaadir secure its second goal and maintained a stable lead until the 86th minute when Galmudug fired a header to dash Banaadir’s hopes of closing the match with a win.
Coupling a fine performance and roaring home ground support, Banaadir made known its intentions when it sent the ball bouncing on the net in the first three rounds.
It was all over for Galmudug which suffered an accuracy flip paving way for Banaadir to carry the day.
This was the first win for Banaadir in ten years.
Indeed for Mogadishu residents and Somalis at large, the close of the two weeks tourney marked a high in wrapping up a year which by all measures had been a difficult one.