By Sulayman Bah
After being brought back down to earth by a second string Moroccan national team outfit, Gambia
will be hoping to right the gaffes in that game today when they face the Central African Republic.
Time might not be ticking for gaffer Sang Ndong but his troop of soldiers buckling down the soonest possible moment –beginning today – will go a long way in the coach getting a much dispirited scorpions fans rallying back behind him.
Anymore defeat will have critics justifying their reason for going against his appointment the very day he got offered the managerial job, with Sang’s three loses in five games doing no favours to his chance of dwelling longer on the hot seat.
The excuse being spewed around over an incoherent Gambian team’s defeat to Morocco’s Olympic team last Thursday, is the unavailability of certain key players in Captain Omar Colley, Chievo Verona striker Lamin Jallow and Hamza Barry who are all fit and expected to play a part today.
The Central African Republic, like Gambia, has yet to qualify in any major tournament continentally and globally at senior level.
The Wild Beasts have managed a mere eight wins in the thirty-eight (38) international games they’ve gotten engaged in – a shocking result of which breaks down as thus: 22 losses 8 wins and 8 draws from 2000 to date.
They, however, have been on a worth praising upward trajectory beginning last year when they swaggered over Madagascar and Angola losing only to DR Congo 4-1 in September.
The canceled friendly with Kosovo aside, coach Blaise Kopogbo has been readying up his charges and goes into today’s fixture buoyed of upsetting a wounded Gambian outfit who carry the favourites tagging.
Calling up six new faces without getting them minutes, defeats the very purpose of arranging the test games, but Sang Ndong will be expected to exercise circumspection and wouldn’t risk the idea of throwing in inexperienced youngsters with his and the nation’s pride, now on the line.
The CAR is rarely a footballing hot bed but gaffer Blaise has a couple of players trading their services in Europe and around the continent.
Today’s encounter promises to be a thriller.
Gambia is preparing ahead of the first qualifier game against Benin in June.
