Red devils Hawks have qualified for the semifinal of the FA Cup competition after a hard-fought 2-1 win over Tallinding United in a rather dull game played at the Serrekunda East mini-Stadium on Sunday.
Hawks FC took the lead through defender Sulayman Suwaneh in the 17th minute after slotting home a brilliant opening goal in the game.
Situation turned much better for coach Sang Ndong and his charges when they found themselves two nil up thanks to Dawda Ceesay’s 47th minute solo effort with a brilliant strike.
Substitute Jerreh Tamba scored Tallinding United’s only goal of the game in the 74th minute but that only proved to be a mere consolation much to the disappointment of coach Alagie Nyassi and his Tallinding outfit.
Speaking to reporters shortly after the game, Sang Ndong, head coach of Hawks FC, said the game was “not very impressive” but was however happy that his team had advanced to the semifinal of the competition.
"We did not play an impressive game today but we are extremely delighted to achieve the desired result, which is the most important thing in the end," said the coach of the city boys.
Ndong says most of the players he is currently using for the FA Cup competition are youngsters that have graduated through the ranks of Hawks' youthful players.
"We are using the FA Cup competition as part of our pre-season programmes before the final selection is made," Ndong, the former coach of the
For his part, Alagie Nyassi, head coach of Tallinding United, said they lost to a much senior and mature team, adding that his club, which was missing the services of the team’s trio, was struggling to score goals.
Nyassi described his team’s performance in the FA Cup competition as good, although he is aware of the fact that there is still more room for improvement in some of the departments.
"There are still departments in the club that need to be strengthened so as to be able to stand strong in the second division league," concluded Nyassi, who also had a successful stint with the Tallinding outfit as player.
