Berry Ladies beat Essiam Socrates Ladies to secure Southern Zone top-four spot

Berry Ladies defeated Mankessim giants, Essiam Socrates Ladies 2-1 in the Matchday 15 of the Malta Guinness Women’s Premier League (WPL) at the Madina Astro Turf to secure fourth position in the Southern Zone.

Second-half goals from Rahama Jafaru and Daniela Abass helped the side to record their seventh win of the season as Janet Korko Osei also registered her name on the scoresheet for Essiam Socrates.

The hunger for redemption on the faces of Berry Ladies began immediately after the center referee blew her whistle to kick-start the game.

The home side after succumbing to a 3-1 defeat to the visitors in the first leg encounter vowed not to give any chance this time round as they kept the ball low with their telepathy passes.

Essiam Socrates on the other hand was solid in their backline making some great clearances with hopes of picking up a positive result by the end of the 90 minutes.

Despite the chants from the fans of the home team, the Mankessim-based side felt relaxed in their play, using the wings to get into the defense of Coach Reginald Asante’s side.

All efforts from the two sides to break the deadlock failed as the first 45 minutes of the game ended 0:0 at the Madina Astro Turf on Monday morning.

After recess, Berry Ladies mounted pressure on the debutants with their long-range shots and fast runs into the 18-yard box.

After minutes of knocking, Janet Korko Osei finally got the opener for the visiting team in the 56th minute of the game to put her side in the lead.

Three minutes after taking the lead, Berry Ladies responded with a beautiful equalizer from Rahama Jafaru.

The intensity of the game was one to talk about as the two top sides created some incredible opportunities but failed to make something better out of them.

It took Daniela Abass a quick run and an easy finish to complete the comeback against the Mankessim-based side in the 70th minute of the game to seal their redemption mission.

After an impressive 90 minutes of exciting play, center referee Mansah Hommey ended the game as Berry Ladies defeated their opponents by a one-goal margin.

Berry Ladies now sit in fourth position in the Southern Zone with 24 points to their credit.

Meanwhile, Fabulous Ladies put up an improved performance to beat Supreme Ladies 2-1 at the Bantama Astroturf on Monday. The win puts Fabulous Ladies on 12 points to occupy the ninth position in the Northern Zone.