The Gambia’s male national team nicknamed the Scorpions suffered their first humiliating defeat for the first time since losing 8 – 0 to Guinea Conakry on 14 May 1972.
The Gambia were totally outclassed, embarrassed and battered 7 – 2 in a test game by a Moroccan U-23 side in El-Jadida where the Scorpions are having a ten-day training camp.
The Moroccans commanded the first half and went into the interval with a deserved 2 – 0 lead with goals from Ahadad and Benoun signaling the home sides dominance in the game.
When the Scorpions thought things could be better in the second period, it turned out even worse as a young determined Morrocan side added five additional goals with a brace from Azaro and a hat trick from EL Karti that put coach Tom Saintfiet and his team at the receiving end of a humiliating 7 – 2 defeat with a brace from Scorpion striker Modou Barrow unable to make the scoreline pleasing.
Gambians reacted angrily to the outcome of the game.
Rohey Mabye, a sports journalist posted “This is unacceptable, 7 – 2, hell no. Something must be done, this is an embarrassment, a CHAN team humiliating a national team? Gambia let us focus on our football fraternity.”
Sang Mendy a certified journalism trainer posted “A good test for Tom and his charges. Better to be beaten by big guns than U-23 sides”.
Realistically losing to a CHAN team was an unforgivable embarrassment for a nation that recently qualified for a maiden AFCON competition with great hope’s of a breakthrough.
Whatever went wrong for Tom and his team must be quickly addressed with the Cameroon championships just three months away. The scorpions are scheduled to play another test game against Sierra Leone on Saturday, which provides a chance to bounce back from its worst defeat.
