NEW GAMBIA COACH STARTS DUTY WITH A DRAW IN AFCON QUALIFIER

Tom Saintfiet the newly appointed Belgian tactician for the Gambia senior national football team began his official duties with a stalemate 1 – 1 draw with the desert foxes of Algeria.

The duel at the Independence Stadium in Bakau on Sunday evening is one in history that, Gambian will forever remember for some reason. The visitors first left home supporters in nervous situation when forward Baghdad Bounedjah capitalized on a miscommunication between centre-back Mamadou Futty Danso and goalkeeper Modou Jobe and hit into an unguarded net.

The Algerian lead lasted all of one minute as the livewire Assan Ceesay cancelled out the deficit with a clinical finish to earned Tom a draw in his quest to qualify the Scorpions to their maiden African Cup of nations in Cameroon 2019.

Gambia came into the contest on the back of a one nil lost to Benin in the first round of matches in Cotonou, while visitors Algeria enjoy a 1 – 0 triumph over Togo. On that evidence the match was of extreme importance to both side especially the host whose chances of qualification would have been in danger if they had lost.

One would expect a game of such, as Gambia assembled experience and young energetic players while Algeria had in their midst high calibre players like Riyad Mahrez, Yacine Brihimi, Sofiane Feghouli, Nabil Bentalib all of who played for top European teams, to attract massive attendance.

The turn-out just exceeded the anticipations as the stadium carries more than its load. Unconfirmed reports has it that, close to forty thousand (40, 000) spectators, gets on the stands that is meant to carry twenty-five thousand (25, 000) fans. While several thousand others most of whom forcefully entered, stood around the pitch under the pavilions.

That huge crowd sparked fear, and delay the game for one and a half hour as the visitors raised concerns over their safety, which brought lengthy conversations between the match commissioner Prince Kai Saquet from Sierra Leon, Gambian football administrators and Algerian delegation.

After several back and forth and close door discussions between them, which also saw the players of the two side coming out of the dressing room to appeal to the fans to comport themselves and keep calf during the game, with the Gambia captain Pa Modou Jagne addressing the crowd through the PA system to avoid any pitch invasion.

Those appeals were not enough to persuade the visitors and match commissioner as he (Prince) calls for security re-enforcement which the event management committee quickly responded to, by further providing a battalion of soldiers and police.

The match commissioner eventually convinces the visitors and assured them of their safety as he attached conditions that if any case of violence is spotted or any pitch invasion even by a single fan, the match will be called-off.

The overcrowded situation at the Stadium and the near cancelation of the game will forever remain in memories. Many allege Gambia Football Federation for showing less care about the safety of spectators by providing more tickets than the capacity.

All in all it was a complete failure on the side of GFF, its event management committee and the stadium management committee. Whatever left Prince Kai Saquet to be convinced to held the game in such risky situation, remain to my bewilderment? Perhaps, due to the face that he is from an Anglo-phone country (Sierra-Leon) as a result, he does not want fellow English-speaking country to just cheaply lost points without kicking the ball.

Maybe the Algerians too were optimistic of having an easy ride over the Gambia.

But things turned different for them as the patience and tactical discipline of the scorpions make all the difference. Tom Saintfiet deployed five men in midfield with Assan Ceeay playing in the lone strike position. That approach left the visitors comfortable on the ball but, denied them the much-needed space in the Gambia goal area.

Algerian tall lanky midfielder Nabil Bentalib was instrumental in midfield where he always had enough space and time to do whatever he wanted, as the host always rallied behind the ball when the visitors take charge. But his team mates Yacine Brahimi and Riyad Mahrez were not as threatening as they often used to be, in fact Mahrez was a flop, aside from his early move which saw him cut inside the Gambia defence and curled in a shot that nearly broke the deadlock as it slightly skid the outside of the stand post, nothing of such was see of him in the evening.

It was on the 47th minutes that the crowd witnesses the opener when defender Futty Danso tried to sealed the ball for his keeper Modou Jobe who appeared late as the duo were unsure of what they were doing but, Algerian forward Baghdad Bounedjah knew exactly what he was doing as he sneak from behind to round the keeper and smashes into an empty net.

However, that lead lasted for one minute as the frenzied Gambian supporters burst into celebrations when the wing-wizard Lamin Jallow gets a pass on the right and hit in a cross which met Assan Ceesay with his timely runs at a perfect position at the perfect time to clinically finish into Rais Mboulhi’s net and ran to the jubilant scorpion fans for celebrations.

Gambia National Team

The scorpions knew collecting a point against a well compacted Algerians will not be considered a disappointment by the footballing world, so they seat even deeper to avoid repeating any costly error for the remainder of the minutes.

Though there were moments, particularly when Modou Jobe did well to save a volley from Algerian Mehdi Tahrat and both Musa Barrow and Lamin Jallow flashing a shot just an inch wide in the opposing end.

Tom in a bid to set up a new look Gambia squad, handed debut to youngsters (Musa Barrow who plays for Atlanta in Italian Serie A and Metz Abdoulie Jallow of the French League 1) both of who came on within the last 15minutes.

The only negative on the evening is the Federation’s failure to manage and organised the game as demanded by standard other, other than that the crowd could not complain of anything as they praised the players and the coach for securing an unexpected point against captain Brahimi and co.