Hamadi Kebbeh delve deep into the weekend talking points of the Gambia First Division match day six. Banjul United handed their fifth defeat of the season; Fortune FC goes four points clear on top. Falcons FC halt Hart FC’s impressive run while there were clean sheets and victories for TMT and Real de Banjul.
Can Banjul Utd survive after the early scares?
Banjul Utd has survived relegation in the past two seasons, but I don’t think this season they will survive relegation. They are going down; they currently lack experienced players that have played in the league. Seasons where they survived, those players played crucial roles. The team is currently full of young players who are playing in the league for the first time. Losing five games in a row without scoring a single goal is a huge blow.
Fortune Good defense
Fortune has a very good defense line; credit to them for not conceding so many goals. Their defense is stable; they stand a chance to win the league ahead of Real de Banjul. The same trend happened to Real de Banjul last season with their first six games; they didn’t concede more than two goals.
Pa Abdou Cham, player of the week
Pa Abdou Cham is a fine player. All these past seasons, he didn’t have the opportunity to showcase his talent because Real had lots of midfielders, the likes of Amadou Nyassi and Foday Darboe. He wasn’t a regular. This time around, Real de Banjul has a weak midfield; he is boosting the team and helping in all corners. He, together with Sheikh Jaw, if they are fit and are in form, can help Real de Banjul a lot in the title race. He has really stepped up so far. Real are strong favorites; hence they are the holders, but the team still lacks quality compared to previous seasons, but again, it’s Real de Banjul; you cannot rule them out.
Falcons back in the mix
I have never ruled out the Falcons in the title race; they have challenged for the title in the past two seasons and were giving Real de Banjul the needed pressure. They have very good players in their team and experienced players for that matter. They may have had a slow start, dropping some points, but their win against Hart FC pushed them a lot; the Falcons handled Hart really well after their incredible start. They will end the season on higher heights. I believe nothing less than being in the top 5. The squad is there, mixed with experience.
Referees inconsistent
Referee Omar Sallah and Mustapha Bittaye received backlash from Brikama Utd and Team Rhino. The latter failed to award Team Rhino a penalty against Real de Banjul while Omar Sallah failed to award Brikama Utd a clear goal against Gambia Dutch Lions.
Team Rhino’s penalty claim against Real de Banjul is clear and legitimate; the player swung his hand and hit the ball. That’s why the ball bounced in the area the player was in and went on to the goalkeeper. The reasons why referees’ errors are surfacing is because FIFA Connect is showing games live, enabling people to crop errors and share them. It has been happening, but there was no FIFA Connect. Most of the referees that are being promoted aren’t competent enough; they still need to learn. The tone and way of communicating with players, likewise coaches, is very poor and disrespectful and sometimes even very harsh.
Gambia Dutch Lion and TMT coaches reacted to their victories over the weekend.
Omar Cham, Gambia Dutch Lion coach
The victory is very important; it’s a big motivation for the team, the players, and the fans too. We have recorded 3-1 & 4-1 results against Brikama in test matches and handing them their first defeat is massive for us. We will now try to build the consistency. Our previous games weren’t bad; we were too offensive and left some space behind. We made a few mistakes.
Yunusa Badjie, TMT coach
The win is a very important one. We knew all along we would win matches; it was a matter of when. We had a good preseason but had a slow start. We have been working a lot. Defensively, we are trying to stabilize the team, and we are very organized defensively.
