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Gambian teenage sensational goalie delighted with top tier appearance

May 17, 2011, 4:12 PM | Article By: Lamin Drammeh

Gambian teenage sensational goalkeeper Musa Touray says he is extremely delighted at making his much-awaited appearance for the GFA division one league giants Steve Biko after months of trials marked by some spectacular performances in training.

The 15-year-old youngster caught the eyes of football pundits after strings of world class saves that prevented Biko from conceding any further defeat when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Interior in the final game of the first round of the GFA top-tier football league at the Serrekunda East Mini-stadium in his first appearance as a Biko player.

He widely rated by football pundits as the most outstanding goalkeeper in the last year's Nawettan in Bakau following a series of world-class saves that helped his team (Zuwa FC) reach the final of the knockout championship for the first time in the club's history.

Touray was born in Bakau Newtown to Gambian parents Masaneh Touray and Fatoumatta Singhateh.

The young prodigy has had an outstanding season with newcomers Zuwa since his sensational switch to the Bakau Newtown outfit from local rivals Luniburg in the early part of the 2009 Nawettan season.

Touray, who has set his eyes on becoming a professional player at some point in his playing career, continues to attract interest of a good number of first division teams including Africell FC who repeatedly express their desire to secure the services of one of the brightest prospects in Gambian football but he has opted to switch allegiance to Steve Biko that has adopted the culture of exporting the country's finest talents to various professional football clubs around the world.

He began his playing career with GIFT Academy where he established himself as a regular first team player helping the academy outfit reach the quarterfinal of the international youth football championship called Norway Cup in Oslo, Norway, in 2005.

Touray also helped GIFT to win the fitness tournament organised by Norway the same year in Oslo with some fantastic performances that saw him attract interest from a host of top sport personalities during a two-week international youth competition.

He made a total of 11first-team appearances for Zuwa Football Club during which he only conceded one goal in 11 games last season.

Zuwa FC team’s head coach Sutay Marong, understood to have been a great admirer of the young prodigy, heaped praises on the teenager saying: “Touray is always considered a hero for Zuwa FC because he has been very much instrumental in the club’s success.

"He has the quality of a team captain because he always plays the role of a team leader and always listens to the instruction of his coaches which made him now a better goalkeeper compared to when he joined us a year ago."

Marong added: "He is very much respectful and has all it takes to become an important player not only for Zuwa FC but also for The Gambia."

One of Touray's most outstanding performances to date came during his side's pulsating 1-1 draw against much fancied Ron Mango in last year's Nawettan as his brilliant saves denied double finalists all the needed points at the expense of the club that has made its first appearance in the Bakau Nawettan last term.

His fantastic performance in his debut appearance for Biko against Interior could give Coach Abdoulie Bojang a difficult task of making a different choice as the Bakau giant killers aim at fighting against relegation, with eleven more matches to come in the second round.