In this edition of the Hits and Misses, we bring to you some of the great opportunities missed by Gambian footballers while on international duty for the Scorpions across the various levels of the National Teams. Some of these misses became very crucial while others had little or no meaning to the final outcome of the games.
Aziz Corr Nyang:
He will forever be remembered for the goal he scored at Dakar’s Leopord Sedar Senghor Stadium that secured The Gambia a 1-1 draw with hosts Senegal, the first time the Scorpions secured a result at the home of their nemesis in more than four decades. But there is also a darker side to this tricky winger’s eventful National Team career that the younger generation of Gambian fans might not remember; probably never heard of. Aziz Corr missed a glourious opportunity when faced one-on-one with Senegalese goalkeeper Tony Silva at the same stadium during the 2004 African Cup of Nations qualifiers. From inside the penalty area, Corr Nyang’s tame effort was thwarted by the big Senegalese keeper as the Lions secured a 3-1 win against the Scorpions and went onto qualify for the event at the expense of The Gambia.
Njogu Demba-Nyren:
Njogu Demba also had a night to forget for The Gambia against Senegal during the joint 2010 Afcon and World Cup qualifiers in Banjul. Demba-Nyren bamboozled the visitors’ defense on several occassions and had almost half-a-dozen chances to beat past Silva in the Senegalese goal during that goalless stalemate but any opportunity thrown at him were foiled. He frustrated the towering striker in the second leg in Dakar as well, but such was his influence in the game that when Aziz Corr scored the equaliser in the return leg, Njogu-Demba’s name was written in the Scoreboard at the Senegalese Stadium as the scorer of the Gambian goal. In the end, Njogu’s miss in Banjul became crucial as The Gambia missed out on a place to the final round of the qualifiers by goal difference. Imagine what would’ve happened if Gambia had gone through to the final rounds where the top three teams from each group made up of four teams would qualify for the Nations Cup and the top ranked side also playing in the World Cup.
Cherno Samba:
He was tagged the player to spearhead England’s assault on the 2006 World Cup in Germany, but Cherno Samba ended up choosing The Gambia at full international level. He scored a gargantuan 132 goals in just 32 games as a schoolboy international and he represented England at every youth level up to the U-20 team, having moved to England at an early age. On his debut for The Gambia, Cherno Samba came off the bench against Liberia in the joint 2010 Afcon and World Cup qualifiers at a packed Independence Stadium. Samba had a great opportunity to score with almost his first touch of the ball but his close range effort was saved by the visitors’ keeper at point blank range. In the end, The Gambia ran out 3-0 winners at home following a 1-1 draw in Monrovia. On his 25th birthday on January 9, 2010, Samba scored his first goal for the Scorpions in a 2-1 friendly win over Tunisia when he headed in a Sanna Nyassi cross to open the scoring.
Haruna Jammeh:
Does Haruna Jammeh’s name ring a bell? A graduate of the Cherno Samba Football Academy, the Bakau born Jammeh is a natural scorer and came to prominence when his goals almost secure Samger a national championship title in their first ever season in the Gambian top flight. Rone, as he is fondly called, was invited to the National U-20 Team by Lamin Sarr, now deceased, and after notable performances in the opening rounds of the qualifiers, Jammeh missed the glourious opportunity in the final game at home to Ghana. From just a mere two yards out, Rone skied the ball over the bar as the Ghanaians captained by Andre Ayew won over the two legs and went on to win the World Cup in Egypt later that year. That miss, among several others of that fateful night, is still fresh in the memory as just a single goal was needed to send Gambia through to the African Youth Championship following a 2-1 first leg defeat in Accra.
Arthur Gomez:
Arthur Gomez should’ve been the first Gambian to play in the English Premier League, instead of Modou Barrow, after he was signed from Hawks by Sir Alex Fergusson for the mighty Manchester United in 2001. He remained in the books of the 20 times English champions for four years but spent that entire time on loan at Belgian side Royal Antwerp where he played 44 league games, scoring 12 times during an injury-disrupted career. He last played for The Gambia in 2003 during the Afcon qualifiers for the following year and he missed a great chance as Gambia drew goalless at home with Senegal. Both he and the Coach Sang Ndong came in for scathing criticisms after the public became aggrieved over what it described as Sang’s preference for Arthur over the goal-hungry Latiff Janneh.