Ex-Scorpion Pa Amat Dibba helped Adana Demirspor secure a return to the Turkish top flight for the first time in nearly three decades on Sunday.
Dibba, 33, who was capped five times by The Gambia and scored just a solitary goal, opened the scorings for Adana in a 4-1 defeat of Menemenspor to clinch the title and won one of the two automatic tickets to the Super Liga for the 2021/22 season.
It was one of the fieriest title challenges in Turkish football history as three teams went into the final games of the season levelled on points. But despite the trio all winning to finish the regular season on 70 points each, it was Adana who were crowned champions on goal difference, eight more than second place Giresunspor with Samsunspor forced into a post-season promotion playoff between third to sixth place teams by just a single goal.
Adana, which boasts one of the most passionate fan bases in Turkish football, reached five playoffs in the last eight seasons, only to be eliminated on all occasions. The promotion will finally bring to an end the southern Turkish representative’s long absence from the top tier of Turkish football, where it last played in the 1994/95 season.
The much-travelled Dibba, born in Farafenni, left China to try his luck in the Turkish second tier this season and the gamble paid off as he played a crucial role in securing the promotion. Playing in 31 of the 34 matches all season and scoring nine times, Dibba finished as the team’s highest scorer and would be fancying his chances on his return to top flight football next season.