The Gambia squeezed a 4-1 win over Sierra Leone yesterday at the Independence Stadium in Bakau in the opening first leg fixture of the qualifiers of the Africa U-17 Championship.

A first half strike from Gambia’s Saihou Gassama after two minutes of play earned  the young Scorpions the lead.

In the 45th minute Sierra Leone’s Zuma Issa Kamara was given matching orders from the central Referee  following an early  booking.

In the 49th minute of the second half, Sierra Leone changed the scores sheet to 1-1 through star player  Ayodele C. King.

Second half goals from Ebou Bojang   in the 55th  and 86th minutes  and from new entrance Fansu Mbemba Simaka in the 77th  gave the Gambia a  convincing win.

It could have been 5-1 had Alsanna Gassama not falied in scoring a penalty for the Gambia in the 25th minute.

 The Gambia has a great first leg advantage as it will take Sierra Leone to qualify if they are able to win beat the Gambia with a score line of 5-0 in Sierra Leone in two weeks time.

The winner of both legs will advance to meet the winner of the clash between the Ghana and Libya in the final qualifying round. Ghana defeated Libya 3-0 in the first leg encounters and is likely to meet the Gambia in the Second round matches.