The Gambia home-based national team now has a lesser hope for a place in the Rwanda 2017 CHAN Championship.
The team, coached by Peter Bonu Johnson, was hammered 3-1 by a much better Senegalese side on Saturday at the Stade Demba Diop, Dakar, Senegal.
The Gambia now face a daunting task of a must-win when Dakar come Banjul for the return leg of the preliminary, in a fortnight’s time.
Not only must The Gambia win that encounter, they have to score two goals without a reply from Senegal to stand any chance of progressing to the next stage of the qualifiers.
Meanwhile, during the match in Dakar, Mamadou Niang opened the score line for Senegal in the 8th minute of the game from a fine finish after capitalising on Gambia’s poor defending.
The Gambia responded quickly and equalised through defender Salifu Krubally, two minutes later.
This goal ended to be the only goal for The Gambia for the boys could barely create another chance for the reminder of the encounter.
Pape Amadou Toure soon threatened The Gambia again by heating the post in the 15th minute from a sensible free-kick.
Abdoulaye Ba made it 2-1 for Senegal in the 45th minute following another poor display by The Gambia at the back to give Senegal the lead going into the break.
Mamadou Niang sealed the victory for Senegal in the final minute of the encounter following another disappointing display by a Gambian side who were outplayed in all departments of the pitch.
Meanwhile, The Gambia will be aiming to overturn the result in Banjul when they host Dakar on 4 July 2015 at the Independence Stadium.
