by Alieu Ceesay & Arfang MS Camara
With barely eight days to go, Gambia Coach Sang Ndong yesterday announced at a press conference, his 20-man squad to battle Mauritania in the ongoing Afcon qualifiers.
The most notable absentees in the squad include midfielder Ebrima Sohna, Abdou Jammeh, Babucarr Steve Trawally and Pa Modou Jagne, but Swansea forward Modou Barrow and Leeds United’s Mustapha Carayol have both returned.
Unveiling his squad, Sang Ndong told reporters that he had been training with 18 local-based players at the FIFA Goal Project and had three test games against Hawks, Armed Forces and GPA.
The team is set to depart Banjul on Sunday for a three-day camp in Senegal before proceeding to Nouakchott on Wednesday for the first leg of the double-legged tie which will be played on Friday.
“They [the players] will arrive [Nouakchott] on Wednesday, train on Thursday, play on Friday and come back home on Saturday for the return leg on the 29th March,” Sang Ndong said.
“Pa Modou Jagne was part of this squad and last minute he got injured when he was playing. The other player was Babucarr Steve Trawally who is just returning from injury. And the third player was Abdou Jammeh but he has two yellow cards and is not qualified to play.”
The former Gambian international and Hawks Coach said he intends to give opportunity to all players and that the absence of certain players did not mean they were being disqualified.
According to him, the team is going to play to win in Nouakchott despite being a difficult game. “Winning is not the most important thing but is a very important thing in this game because when you are in a process and coming up with positive results, it encourages officials and players to push up. We want to change the face of Gambian football and we are going to give it the all we have.”
The Squad: Modou Jobe (Niarry Tally), Christopher Allen (GPA), Kebba Ceesay (Lech Poznan), Bubacarr Sanneh (AC Horsens), Omar Colley (Djurgardens IF), Mass Manga (Hawks), Ibou Touray (Rhyl FC), Alieu Jatta (Generation Foot), Gregory Sambou (GPA), Kaba Sambou (Stade de Mbour), Alhagie Bah (Real De Banjul), Lamin Charty (Hawks), Hamza Barry (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Mustapha Carayol (Leeds Utd), Modou Barrow (Swansea), Muhammed Conteh (Mbour PC), Demba Savage (Hacken), Omar Jagne (Dalkurd), Pa Amat Dibba (GIF Sudnsvall), and Emil Sambou (Armed Forces).
