Ashley Williams (footballer, born 2000)

Ashley Williams (born 30 October 2000) is a Liberian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for LISCR FC in the Liberian Premier League[1] and the Liberia U20 National Football Team.[2] Local fans have named him after German goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer for his excellent goalkeeping skills and perfect ball control with his feet.

For the Welsh international footballer, see Ashley Williams (footballer).
Ashley Williams
Ashley Williams playing for Liberia U20 in the 2018 WAFU U20 Cup
Personal information
Full name Ashley Williams
Date of birth (2000-10-30) October 30, 2000
Place of birth Montserrado County, Liberia
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 LISCR FC[1]
Number 25
Youth career
2012–2014 Duke Football Club
2014–2015 Bassa Town Young Controllers
2015–2017 Gardnersville Football Club
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017– LISCR FC 0 (0)
National team
2018 Liberia U20 4 (0)
2019– Liberia 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early career

Born in Monrovia, Montserrado County, Williams started playing football in his local community in Monrovia, Logan Town where he started playing as a defender. The young potential kid began his career at age 12 when he joined a local community team, Duke Football Club. He played at the Left-back position with the community club before joining another community youth club, Bassa Town Young Controller. He joined the club in 2014 and switch his position from playing at left-back to the goalkeeping position because of the club lack of goalkeeper. The decision to go in goal worked out for the then 14-year-old who performed excellently. He remained as a goalkeeper and led the club to playing in the third division league where he was spotted by Liberia First Division club, LISCR FC that showed interest in signing him for their feeder team, Gardnersville Football Club that plays in the second division of Liberian football.

Gardnersville Football Club

LISCR FC succeeded in signing the left-back turned goalkeeper in 2015 and sent him to Gardnersville Football Club for development. The young goalkeeper was immediately given a place in the team upon his arrival after then Gardnersville Football Club first choice goalkeeper, Gabriel Okotie was promoted to LISCR FC. Despite his debut season in the second tier of Liberian football where he played against some top players, he managed to put out some brilliant performances which caught the attention of LISCR FC head coach, Tapha Manneh who invited him to train with LISCR FC during the first phase break of the 2016–17 Liberia First Division. After more than two weeks of intensive training sessions, Williams performances pleased Tapha Manneh who awarded him a place in the team.[3] His promotion to LISCR FC saw Gibriel Okotie returning to Gardnersville Football Club as he became the third choice goalkeeper behind Tommy Songo and Prince Wlame.

LISCR FC

Williams' early dream of becoming one of the best Liberian left-back had faded away as he found himself between the sticks. However, it was a good decision for him with his continuous improvement in goal. In three years, he excelled from the third division to the top tier of Liberian football playing for on the country's best club. It was another dream that came through for Williams but his playing time reduced with a strong competition with Tommy Songo and Prince Wlame. Two months after his promotion to LISCR FC, he made his debut in the Liberian Cup second round against Muscat FC. He played all 90 minute as LISCR FC and Muscat FC played to a 4–4 draw,[4] a result which sent LISCR FC to the Liberian Cup third round with a 7–3 aggregate. He was part of the LISCR FC team that won the 2016–17 Liberia First Division with an unbeaten record and also won the Liberian Cup.[5] His debut year with LISCR FC turned out to be a successful one with two major trophies. Ahead of LISCR FC 2018 CAF Champions League preliminary round games against Al-Hilal Club (Omdurman), he featured and played a key role in helping LISCR FC to win two preseason the LISCR Trust Tournament[6] and the Liberia Diaspora Tournament[7] which were preseason tournaments. He missed out making playing in the 2018 CAF Champions League after not being included in the 18-man squad for the LISCR FC 1–0 win at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium[8] and the 3–0 defeat in the return leg at the Blue Jewel Stadium in Sudan.[9]

International career

Williams might not have had the opportunity to played a competitive game for LISCR FC, but his performances during the preseason never went unnoticed by Liberia U20 head coach, Christopher Wreh who called him to the team's training sessions ahead of the 2018 WAFU/FOX U-20 Tournament. He made the list of the provisional 25-players[10] before making the final 18-man team for the tournament.[2] He made his debut for the Liberia U20 on the opening day of the tournament with a spectacular performance in goal. Unfortunate for Williams', Liberia lost 3–0 to Ivory Coast U20 despite managing eight saves.[11] Despite the defeat, he kept the confidence and helped the Liberia U20 bounced back to defeat with a 2–1 win.[12] Liberia U20 qualified from the group stage to the semifinals with a 5–1 win over Sierra Leone U20.[13] It was another match for the youngster that performed excellently in goal. Not only his goalkeeping skills, but Williams won the heart of the many fans with his perfect feet-work. He would control the ball perfectly and take on his opponents with his dribbling ability. On May 2, Williams kept a clean-sheet as Liberia beat Mali to reach the final of the 2018 WAFU/FOX U-20 Tournament.[14]

Honours

Club

LISCR FC Winner

  • Liberian Premier League: 2016–17[15]
  • FA Cup: 2016–17[15]
gollark: Yes, but stupider.
gollark: It was established something like three days ago because of protests.
gollark: Well, yes, but in this case a self-declared "autonomous zone"... isn't really autonomous at all in any way.
gollark: Basically a tourist trap, and it... almost entirely relies on outside services and people bringing in food and stuff.
gollark: Nope, America.

References
  1. "Ashley Williams - LISCR FC". Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  2. Ballah, Arrington. "LFA Releases List of Players for WAFU U-20 Team". The Bush Chicken. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  3. "LISCR FC Beefs up squad for phase 2 – Liberia Sports Online". liberiasportsonline.com.
  4. "LISCR FC's Journey to FA Cup Success – Liberian Observer". www.liberianobserver.com.
  5. "LISCR Becomes Double Champions - Liberian Observer". www.liberianobserver.com.
  6. Ballah, Arrington. "LISCR FC Crowned Champions of the 2017 LISCR Trust Tournament". The Bush Chicken. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  7. Ballah, Arrington. "LISCR Wins Diaspora Tournament". The Bush Chicken. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  8. Ballah, Arrington. "LISCR FC Grabs First Continental Victory". The Bush Chicken. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  9. Ballah, Arrington. "LISCR FC Exits CAF Champions League With Loss in Sudan". The Bush Chicken. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  10. Ballah, Arrington. "25 Players Listed in U-20 Provisional Squad". The Bush Chicken. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  11. Ballah, Arrington. "Liberia Humiliated in WAFU U-20 Opener". The Bush Chicken. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  12. "Liberia Claim 2–1 Victory over Guinea Bissau – Liberian Observer". www.liberianobserver.com.
  13. Ballah, Arrington. "Musa Kebbay's Hat-trick Helps Liberia Advance to WAFU Semifinals". The Bush Chicken. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  14. Ballah, Arrington. "Liberia to Meet Gambia in WAFU U-20 Cup Final". The Bush Chicken. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  15. "From 3rd Division to Double 1st Division Titles in 2017 | Liberian Observer". www.liberianobserver.com. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
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