By Sulayman Bah
Right-back Simon Richter was Gambia’s stand-out player in an abysmal outing that saw the Scorpions’ hopes of an Africa Cup of Nations maiden appearance grow slimmer.
The 32-year-old made sure the right-back was no pathway for the opposition. His intelligent play belies his level of football –third division in Denmark – and covered the back well though he seldom overlapped.
Modou Jobe: 6/10
Simon Richter: 8/10
Bubacarr Sanneh: The Anderlecht centre-back sealed the net until in the final minutes as they conceded a devastating late goal which gifted the Togolese a goal just as in the first-leg. 5/10.
Futty Danso: He played it neat until that goal wrecked it. He and Sanneh are yet to keep a clean sheet in the three matches they’ve been partnered. 5/10.
Pa Modou Jagne: The team leader perhaps left his captain fantastic mood at his hotel room. The FC Zurich left-back, like rest of his teammate, slacked off a bit in the final minutes. That aside, he was impressive and helped in the damage limitation exercise after coach Tom Saintfiet’s gamble to play a lone holding midfielder back-fired. Though his long-ball throw-ins were made to waste. 6/10.
Ebou Adams: He wasn’t just bright yesterday night and did not show any basic techniques of midfield-playing. He tidied middle of the park against Algeria and in the first-leg in Lome but had supporters whistling and questioning how he even got the nod ahead of Yusupha Bobb.
The 22-year-old should by now have learned that Gambian fans are impatient and do not hesitate one moment to turn against their own no matter how impressive he’d been in previous games. There is still room for improvement.3/10.
Ebrima Sohna: Decent should be fitting to sum up his display. Creativity was lacking in midfield but he made sure he did not falter for what he’s known for –working tirelessly and intercepting attacks. The ex-Sandefjord man seems to show limitless energy reserve-one player to rely on never to disappoint. 8/10.
Sulayman Marreh: He dispatched passes but wasn’t domineering. He sometimes spread passes unnecessarily when urgency is paramount. 6/10.
Lamin Jallow: If ever anyone stood out in attack then it has to be Jallow. He was surprisingly substituted. Guilty of wasting few chances, the former Cesena striker performed like in all the games he’d featured in. 8/10.
Musa Barrow: It was thought he and Assan Ceesay could make a fiery duo. While this experimentation is a work in progress, the partnership fell flat on its face yesterday. 5/10
Assan Ceesay: He showed a side to him probably not known before –tricks. With a good pace, he made the Togolese work up a sweat. It merely wasn’t his day. 7/10
