By Adama Makasuba
The Gambia senior team have been beaten by the Ivorian senior team by 2-0 in the world cup qualifiers played in Tanzania which comes as a big blow to the scorpions after they got beaten by Burundi barely a week in the world cup opener.
Ivorian Christian Koume slotted in the first goal for his team in the 45th minute of the match after Gambian goalkeeper Modou Jobe punched out a save. The scorpions kept their stand against the Africa’s giants, but all hope dashed after Sekou Fofana sent in a long-range shot to double the lead for the elephants of Ivory Coast in the 70 minutes of the match.
Speaking after the match, Gambian head coach Tom Saintfeit said the players showcased a spectacular performance because they played against Africa’s powerhouse.
“We played against a giant of African football, a giant of world football. I am very dissatisfied and still disappointed about the defeat vs Burundi because that defeat is not acceptable. But the performance makes us strong for AFCON. We are a tough team. We have speed in the transitions, but we lost our scorpion “sting”, and that “sting” needs to come back before Afcon,” he said.
“After the surprising defeat against Burundi, which was not really calculated, but we really need to do all our best to steal points from African giants Ivory Coast. It won’t be easy. Ivory Coast beat Seychelles 9-0 a few days ago and Ivory is gearing up for a fantastic Afcon,” he added.
