The Young Scorpions opened their training programme with a 2-2 draw against Armed Forces at the National Technical Training Centre in Yundum. Head Coach Mattar M’Boge has been training with a provisional squad of 28 players ahead of the second edition of the WAFU Zone A U-20 championship to be held in Guinea. Under the guidance of M’Boge, the Young Scorpions were crowned champions of the inaugural edition held in Monrovia, Liberia in 2018.
The match started at a high tempo from the first whistle, with both teams looking to impress their coaches, with Armed Forces now being led by former assistant head coach Ebrima Jatta. The Young Scorpions made the brighter start with Alagie Gibba opening the scoring after just six minutes with a calm finish after a clever through-ball from Habibou Mendy. The Young Scorpions continued to mount pressure on the Khaki Boys and it was Gibba who made it 2-0 with a firm header from a Lamin Saidykhan corner with 30 minutes on the clock.
Saidykhan himself was unlucky not to score, after hitting a long-range shot which cannoned off the post. Four minutes later, some good link-up play between Modou Cham and Ismaila Ceesay found Ceesay in the box but he was brought down by a heavy challenge and was awarded a penalty. Ceesay dusted himself off to step up but smashed his kick wide of the goal.The Khaki Boys, determined not to be embarrassed, made their adjustments in the second half to get themselves back into the game. With the Young Scorpions tiring, they took advantage with a neatly worked goal on the counterattack on 70 minutes from Lamin M Sanneh.
Six minutes later, the Young Scorpions couldn’t hold their lead and conceded a penalty which was converted by Sanneh to bring the scores level at 2-2.A well-contested match ended with both teams happy with their morning’s work. Alagie Gibba was awarded the man-of-the-match by the technical team, with notable mentions for Matarr Ceesay, Modou Cham and Moses Jassey. Head Coach Mattar M’Boge said, ‘I’m impressed with the work the boys have put in today.
If this is what they can produce after only two days of training, then I can’t wait to see what they will bring in the future. I can only urge them to keep up the good work and not allow the quality to drop. We played extremely well in the first half and they took on board our instructions, but of course, there are lessons for us to learn and areas that we need to improve on but this is part of the territory when it comes to developing young players.’
The next scheduled test matches are on Saturday 2nd November against Banjul United and Tuesday 5th November against Real de Banjul, with both matches taking place at the Stadium with kick-off at 8.30am owing to the Super Nawettan fixtures.The new dates for the WAFU Zone A U-20 Championship have been communicated by the WAFU secretariat with the tournament now taking place from 24th November to 8th December in Conakry, Guinea.
Young Scorpions training squad
GOALKEEPERS: Ebrima Cham (Gamtel), Yankuba Sabally (Fortune), Alagie Saho (Bk Milan), Lamin Saidy (Real De Banjul)
DEFENDERS: Moses Jassey (GPA), Lamin Kinteh (Armed Forces), James Gomez (Real de Banjul), Pa Ousma Gai (Banjul United), Modou Manneh (Brikama United), Sadi Gaye (Wallidan), Habibou Mendy (Brikama United), Bai Lamin Sowe (Waa Banjul)
MIDFIELDERS: Bai Sonko (Armed Forces), Tijan Marr (Fortune), Famara Camara (Samger), Matarr Ceesay (Casa Sports), Modou Cham (BK Milan), Rasidou Bah (Armed Forces), Fabakary Touray (PSV Wellingara), Abdoulie Sarr (Banjul United), Alieu Fadera (Real de Banjul), Lamin Saidykhan (Fortune)
FORWARDS: Alagie Gibba (Wallidan), Ensa Keita (Fortune), Momodou Bojang (Casa Sports), Malang Jammeh (Bombada), Mam Adama Secka (Waa Banjul), Ismaila Ceesay (Marimoo)
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