YAMOUSSOUKRO, Côte d’Ivoire – Senegal coach Aliou Cisse expressed his full satisfaction with how the defending champions opened their AFCON title defense after thrashing Gambia 3-0 in Yamoussoukro.
Speaking after the emphatic victory, Cisse said that his side did well under the trying conditions of the heat and played well despite the challenges.
“I am very satisfied with the performance of the players, especially since things were difficult given the climatic conditions and heat that we faced. We will continue to work hard on a few things that need to be rectified but overall, I am very happy with this victory,” Cisse said according to cafonline.
Up next for the defending champions is a mouth-watering tie against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon on Friday.
On the young sensation, Lamine Camara who put up a Man of the Match performance on his CAF AFCON debut, Cisse boldly stated that it was his time to shine.
“Lamine Camara is a young player, and his time has come. He scored two goals against Gambia and gave a distinguished performance on the field. The young player must be trusted and developed.”
To his opponents, Cisse encouraged them that there were still matches to be played and that they should not be disheartened.
“It is not over for Gambia after losing in the first match. They can correct it, just like what happened to us in the World Cup where we lost our first match in the group stage. They can still turn things around” urged the coach.
Cisse’s showed enough quality in the Ivorian heat to suggest they could become the first team to win back-to-back AFCON titles since Egypt reeled off three in a row in 2006, 2008 and 2010.
Senegal’s XI featured just five of the starting team which beat Egypt on penalties in the final two years ago and it was youngster Camara who stole the show, AFP reported.
Gambia already face an uphill task to reach the knockout stage two years after a shock run to the quarter-finals on debut.
The holders wasted little time in piling the pressure on their West African neighbours and took the lead in the fourth minute.
Sadio Mane was left in plenty of space at the back post and his lay-off was swept home left-footed by the unmarked Pape Gueye from inside the area.
Gambia endured a troubled build-up to the tournament, boycotting a training session over an unpaid qualification bonus before their flight to Côte d’Ivoire was forced to turn around just nine minutes after take-off due to technical problems.
But they grew into the game after the early setback, going close to an equaliser when Musa Barrow curled a free-kick into the side-netting.
Gambia was dealt a blow shortly before half-time though when Cardiff City midfielder Ebou Adams was dismissed for a studs-up challenge.
The underdogs continued to threaten after the restart however, as Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy was forced to dive to his right to palm away Barrow’s long-range drive, with Ali Sowe slicing the rebound wide.
Senegal effectively killed off the game just moments later, though, as a slick passing move ended with 20-year-old Camara collecting Ismailia Sarr’s pass and drilling a low shot into the far corner.
The Lions of Teranga rounded off the scoring with an early contender for goal of the tournament in the 86th minute.
Clever trickery from Iliman Ndiaye took him away from two defenders and his pass was expertly bent into the top corner from the edge of the ‘D’ by Metz midfielder Camara.
Mohamed Badamosi came close to grabbing an injury-time consolation for the Gambians when he headed wide, but they were ultimately outclassed and will now turn their attentions to their second game against Guinea on Friday.
Senegal will likely face a tougher assignment when they face five-time winners Cameroon
Gambia coach, Tom Saintfiet gave credit to a well-organised Senegal team after they were subjected to a 3-0 defeat.
The Scorpions were subject to a clinical display by the defending champions who put three past them.
Speaking after the match, the coach apologized for the result and gave credit to the defending champions for a clinical display.
“We are sorry for this result. We wanted our performance to be better than this. We tried everything we could to come back with the result. After conceding early, Senegal was more effective and better organised, which was decisive in the match,” said a dejected Saintfiet.
We did not create many chances in the match. The big problem in the first half is that we were unable to find our footing. We lost 3-0 and this is considered a major defeat, and losing a man also made things worse for us,” he added.
