By: Babucarr Fallaboweh
Muhammed Saine’s 20th-minute goal was enough to secure Telecommunications giants Gamtel victory over Dibba Oil FC to maintain their league status.
Dibba Oil beat Bombada while Gamtel defeated BK Milan in the playoff before settling the crunch match at the Goal Project.
Jarra-based coach Malang Yaffa told the Alkamba sports that the future is bright despite their defeat in the playoff.
“Gamtel is a very experienced team with an experienced coach. That’s the end of us. The team is there, and the kids are ready to do the job; maybe I will bring in three players if I continue as the coach.” He stressed
“We played well in the entire game; the only chance they got, they capitalized on it. We were on top of them the whole 90 minutes. We created chances, which was the best game since I joined the team. They were so tight at the back that we knocked the ball because we did the build-up from behind. We prepared the game well, but luck wasn’t on our side.”
The former Sanyang and Brufut Utd coach took the reigns after the first round as the team was fighting for survival at the 13th position with 18 points.
“I brought in Hamang Conteh and Muhammed Hydra. We worked hard and took it game after game until we were safe from relegation. We started moving when we realized we were safe after beating BK Milan and champions Psv Wellingara. The board wanted the team to stay in the Second division. We went 11 games unbeaten and thus finished 4th with 53 points.”
The Gamtel president, Kebba Touray, who has been at the helm of affairs since 2012, said the management has been supportive.
Gamtel finished 14th position after losing 2-1 against Ports.
“Maybe the coach can answer certain questions, but at the management level, we did very well and could support the team to maintain them. Therefore, next year we will change the dynamics and try to see what best we can do to maintain the brand Gamtel/Gamcel in the league.”
The president continued that Gamtel is known for being competitive over the years.
“This year and last year have been very challenging. We have been putting up good performance over the years. We escaped relegation last year, and we expected a better performance this year. With Jarra, we were not settled in player recruitment. We released lots of players. We hope to get more committed players to maintain our position in the league. The management has been supportive,” he emphasized.
