As Zone II Tourney Heats Up

The Scorpions  of The Gambia were last evening held to a goal-less draw in their second encounter in the 19th edition of the Amilcar Cabral Zone II tournament currently underway in Guinea Bissau.

Having lost their debut match to Mali, the Scorpions could boost their prospects of climbing to the next stage of the championship if they had emerged victorious in last evening’s encounter.  Now, The Gambia’s chances of making it to the next stage look cumbersome as fellow group members; Guinea Conakry, Mali and Cape Verde have proved to be strong contenders and potential semi finalists.

The Gambia takes on defending champions, Sily Nationale of Guinea Conakry, on Wednesday in final group matches.

Speaking to this reporter shortly after The Gambia’s defeat in the hands of Mali, Lamin Sarr, the Assistant Coach of the Scorpions, said: “ We were playing 4-3-3 formation which the coach wants to use as a system in The Gambia. The boys are not used to this formation as we always played 4-4-2 system . We only practised for this formation for three days before our arrival here in Guinea”.  

The team manager, Alagie Biri-Biri, believed that Scorpions’ defeat in their first match was due to the game plan-formation- which the boys have not adjusted themselves to. “But it’s football, you either win or lose,”  he said. 

Meanwhile, Guinea- Bissau have, alongside Senegal, sailed through to the semi-finals of the sub-regional tourney. The two sides would be joined by other semi-finalists after stamping their superiority on Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone’s hope of the championship title was short lived after Leone Stars were humbled by both Guinea Bissau and Senegal.    

In another news, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal will tomorrow engage each other on knife-edge after both teams secured three points. They will be playing on Wednesday for the first position at 6 pm.