The Scorpions of The Gambia ended their 2017 Gabon African Cup of Nation qualifier with another 2-0 defeat to the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon on Saturday at the Limbe Omnisport Stadium in Cameroon.
It has been another poor campaign as the Scorpions can only boast of 2 points out of six games.
The team drew two games – away to South Africa and at home against Mauritania. It lost both legs to Cameroon, lost away to Mauritania and at home to South Africa.
Coach Sang Ndong and his home-based-dominated side could not stop the already qualified Cameroon as the home side took the lead courtesy of a controversial penalty awarded by the Ghanaian referee which was converted by Benjamin Moukanjo in the 35th minute.
Karl Toko Ekambi headed in from a corner kick after 53 minutes to double Cameroon’s lead.
For a country that is yet to taste playing in any Afcon tournament, a lot more is to be learnt from the poor campaign, thus the need for all stakeholders to honestly look into the problems of Gambian football with a view to finding a solution.
As Coach Sang Ndong continues with his so-called “Rebuilding and Rebranding” process with a much better performance in the final game, Gambia must draw inspiration from countries like Guinea Bissau that has already qualified to their maiden AFCON tournament. Gambia must start getting things right by doing the right thing at the right time rather than blaming referees anytime the team loses and stop applauding team for a mere performance when the results are not coming.
by Alieu Ceesay
