Gambia Coach Matarr M’Boge has charged his group to shift their focus in securing all three points against Ghana in their final group match at the Total African U-20 Cup of Nations.
The Young Scorpions conceded a last-minute goal to drew 1-1 with Tanzania on Friday. Following an opening day 1-0 defeat to Morocco, the Gambians must now secure the maximum points against the Black Satellites of Ghana to stand any chance of securing a place in the quarterfinals of the competition currently underway in Mauritania.
The Young Scorpions will take on Ghana on Monday 22nd February at the Stade De Nouadhibou while Tanzania entertains Morocco at Stade Olympique Nouakchott with both matches kicking off simultaneously at 7pm. The top two ranked sides from each of the three groups will qualify to the knockout stages as well as two of the third-place finishers.
Speaking at a post-match press conference, M’Boge said he was happy with the performance of his team even though he frowned upon the late minute setback from a winning position. “We’re obviously not happy with getting only a point because we wanted to get all three today. There were moments we could have finished the game but that’s football and I’m glad with the performance of the boys,” he said.
“The focus is on Ghana now. There’s still 90 minutes left and I think what we saw before the tournament started that this is the group of death. I think that we’re seeing it now. So, we’re looking forward to this last game against Ghana as it’s our last opportunity to get the three points and get a chance to qualify.”
The Gambians took a 39th minute lead when striker Momodou Bojang smashed in a volley on the edge of the box from a Kajally Drammeh cross. The duo had great chances to extend Gambia’s lead while Wally Fofana came off the bench to entertain the fans to a spectacle but their profligacy in front of goal was to hunt them at the worst possible time.
Captain Lamin Saidy too had a brilliant exhibition in goal, thwarting the Tanzanians on three goal bound moments but with just three minutes remaining, Baba Ceesay was penalised for an infringement and Novatus Dismas scored from the resulting free kick for a share of the spoils.
And Tanzania Coach Jamhuri Mussa Kihwelo was content with the one point against a top opponent, describing The Gambia as one of the best teams in the tournament.