The female national team of Cameroon have handed the Queen Scorpions of The Gambia the heaviest of tasks ahead of the return leg as they taught them a footballing lesson in the first leg of the Women Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The host Cameroon put eight unanswered goals past a largely disorganised and nervous Gambian side at the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium in Cameroon.
This was not down to the home advantage, but rather a difference in class and standards. Cameroon are no match to a Gambian side dominated by average players from the domestic league, and that was proved in the first half.
At halftime, the visitors were already 4 – 0 down and with no hopes of scoring a goal let alone staging a comeback. At that moment the only possibility for The Gambia was to minimise the damage by seating deep in the second half, but that was not even a manageable option.
The same way coach Mariama Bom Sow and her charges lacked strength upfront to penetrate Cameroon, was the same way they lacked solidity at the back to stop the host attack as Cameroon returned from the intervals with another four goals to complete their demolition mission.
This 8 – 0 defeat was not just humiliating and embarrassing, but it simply shows how much Gambian football needs proper administration and restructuring, especially at the domestic level.
With eight sharp nails nailed into the coffin of the Queen Scorpions in the first leg, hopes are altogether washed away ahead of the return leg in Banjul on February 23rd 2022.
