Gambia Coach Matarr M’Boge has remarked that yesterday’s emphatic 3-0 3-0 defeat of the Central African Republic is the perfect response to the demise of our great football icons in the last few months.
The Young Scorpions secured a place in the semifinals of the Total Africa U-20 Nations Cup on Friday with a big statement performance and in the process became the only side to win a quarterfinal encounter in regulation time at the Mauritania championship.
Wally Fofana opened the scoring after just 4 minutes when he got on the end of a beautiful combination of football involving fullback Ba Lamin Sowe, man-of-the-match Lamarana Jallow and Kajally Drammeh. Striker Momodou Bojang finished the game as a contest in the 49th minute before substitute Alieu Barry completed the scoring to cap off a perfect night of scintillating football full of tricks and a dazzling array of beautiful play from the Young Scorpions.
Speaking at a post-match press conference, M’Boge highlighted that the victory was motivated by so many reasons in Gambian football. “These past days, we’ve been in difficult situations to be honest, mentally, but these boys, they continue to make me proud each time we are faced with challenges. They have a mental strength that keeps them focused on the positives of every situation. We lost a great comrade and Coach in Sulayman Kuyateh yesterday and one would have thought that this would seriously dampen our focus and game but I told them the best way to pay tribute to the lost legends; Saul Kuyateh, Bonu Johnson, and Biri Biri is to win this match,” a visibly joyful Matarr said.
“The GFF President has also supported us with a comfortable accommodation and so the boys agreed that they’ll have their own way to say thank you to him; so, this victory is for them [the leadership of the Federation] and every Gambian who’s felt the dark times we’re faced with as a country.”
The Gambian will now face off against Ghana on Monday at 4pm for a place in the finals. The furthest the Young Scorpions’ went in this category is a third-place finish at their debut championship in Congo Brazzaville in 2007 and following a 2-1 come-from-behind win over their semifinal opponents in the group stages, the Gambians will be hopeful of going one step better with a place in the next weekend’s finals.
However, M’Boge is not one to be complacent and stated that his team is always focused on the next task ahead, noting that they are aware of the strength of the Ghanaian team who are three times African champions and the only World Cup winners from our continent. “For us we just take it game by game. We are just going to concentrate on the semifinal match and make sure we win for the finals,” M’Boge buttressed.
For his part, Lamarana Jallow, who was voted man-of-the-match for the second consecutive match applauded the efforts of his teammates and coach. He expressed delight in winning the MOTM award, noting that he’ll continue to give his best for the country and fans.