Gambia Coach Matarr M’Boge has frowned upon the refereeing following his side’s 1-0 defeat to Morocco in their opening match at the Total U-20 African Cup of Nations.
A controversial penalty awarded to The Lions of The Atlas was saved by Gambian keeper Lamin Saidy but the Sudanese referee Mahmood Ismail awarded a retake, again controversially, that was converted for the game’s only goal. Ismail penalised Young Scorpions defender Edrissa Ceesay for what appeared to be an involuntary handball in the 22nd minute but after Saidy saved the initial shot from Oussama Zemraoui, assistant referee Michael Conteh of Sierra Leone flagged for an alleged infringement in the buildup and this time El Mehdi El Mubarik converted in the 25th minute.
The Gambians, who were making their first appearance in the tournament in a decade, dominated for most part of the game and had two strong claims for a penalty turned down by the man in the middle.
Speaking at a post-match press conference, M’Boge praised his side for what he described as a strong performance against a top opposition but was the least pleased with the officiating. “We know the quality and the facilities is far ahead of The Gambia but nonetheless if you come and play in this pitch, it’s 11 vs 11 so they picked up their goal from two penalties I would say because they were given one and our goalkeeper saved it and they were given another. But it’s football and we still have an opportunity to come back again and we would focus ahead,” he lamented.
M’Boge added that the opponent has changed their system of play to counter his team so it’s a complement to his side to show how far they’ve come. He also acknowledged the performance of the substitutes, whom he described as game changers.
For his part, Morocco Coach Rachid Rokki expressed gratitude to his players for coming up against a strong Gambian team, describing the Young Scorpions as a threat in the competition. He stressed that despite the widely held notion of Morocco as group favourtites, they are aware of the strength of the Gambian team and is glad that they got the three points.
The Young Scorpions will take on Tanzania in their second group match on Friday 19th February at 4pm. Tanzania were thrashed 4-0 by Ghana in the early kickoff at the Stade Municipal de Nouadhibou.
