Gambia U-20 return home from Freetown

The Gambia national U20 team yesterday returned to Banjul after a 3-1 penalty shootout defeat by Ghana at the weekend, crashing out of the international youth football tournament in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

They entered into a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in the regulation period.

Taking a flying start to the eight-team championship by beating Ojoko FC of Nigeria 3-2, the Darling Scorpions were forced to recover from a 1-nil down to snatch a pulsating 1-1 draw against Ghana but crashed out of the tournament after failing to shine during the penalty shootout.

The team, headed by Lamin Sarr who enjoyed a deserved win over Liberia to set the stage for the semi-final clash with Ghana, bowed out of the tournament with seven points from the four matches they played.

The president of the Gambia Football Association, Seedy Kinteh, last week told this reporter in an interview that the Gambian team was not in Freetown to win the championship but to test their performance to put in place a solid team that will represent The Gambia in the African U-20 youth championship in Libya next march.