The Young Scorpions will face the Central African Republic in the quarterfinals of the U-20 AFCON in Mauritania on Thursday following yesterday’s 2-1 come from behind defeat of the Black Satellites of Ghana. Kick-off is at 7pm.
The Gambians got off to the worst possible start when they conceded an eight-minute goal. Starring at a group stage exit in the face, Matarr M’Boge’s charges rallied to score two unanswered goals to ensure an emphatic win. Lamarana Jallow ran through the entire midfield and found Ebou Camara whose inch-perfect cross was turned in by Kajally Drammeh for the equaliser. Lamarana capped off his man-of-the-match performance with a goal of his own when he was brought down just outside the Ghanaian penalty area. He got back on his feet and fired home the resulting free-kick.
Having missed great opportunities to extend their lead through efforts from Lamarana, Drammeh and Lamin Jawara, the 2011 third-place finishers were forced to play the final 10 minutes with a numerical disadvantage when Ebou Camara was sent off for a second bookable offense but the Gambians held on for a final 2-1 win.
Speaking at a post-match press conference, an emotional M’Boge was full of praises for his boys, describing them as heroes. “These boys, they just continue to make me proud each time. They deserve all the credit,” he said. “We knew we had to win the match. There was no other option. We had to raise our game. We work hard at the training ground and I’m happy that the boys got the message and implemented it. Playing against a top team like Ghana was never going to be easy and we all saw the performance.”
The Gambia is expected to leave Nouadhibou on Tuesday for Nouakchott, where the remaining matches of the tournament will be played.
