Watched by thousands of spectators, unusual for domestic Gambian league football, Real de Banjul and Hawks entertained the crowd to a spectacle under the floodlights on Sunday night in the first division.
The night match saw Real secured the bragging rights as they toppled their Banjul rivals 1-0 to jump to the summit of the 14-team table. The match was played at Bakau’s Independence Stadium and Abdoulie Bah’s first half penalty was enough to claim all three points for the team dubbed the City Boys. Bah fired past the helpless Hawks keeper from eleven yards after talisman Pa Modou Sohna was brought down in the area by the keeper.
Sohna, who was arguably the best player of the match, terrorized the Hawks defense throughout the night. The Reds were slow to get going and they found their rhythm towards the end but it was too little too late for them as they could not bounce back from the early blow.
With the win, Real de Banjul are now top of the log with 39 points, one more than The Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) in second whose match with Banjul United was called off due to the funeral of their ex-physiotherapist Patrick Mendy. Brikama United are a point further behind following their 1-0 defeat to Fortune. With four more matches left before the end of the season, the tittle challenge is set to go down to the wire with all three teams in contention.
Elsewhere, in the first match of the night, fifth place Wallidan were held to a goalless draw by eight place BK Milan.