History is made in the 2011/12 Lamin Nawetan as for the first time in the competition four big guns, highly regarded as the title favorites, have all failed in their attempts to advance to the quarterfinal stage following their shocking elimination at the expense of their respective opponents en route to the last 16.
Jatta’s FC, Wayeto United, Falcons FC and Sateba United are the biggest casualties to bow out of the competition amid dismal showings in the Nawetan.
Jatta’s are the biggest disappointment after strings of poor performances have seen them fall down the relegation zone. They will be waiting for the next season’s playoff to ensure they regain promotion to the top elite competition.
Jatta’s hope of recovering from what is referred to as a dismal campaign once again suffered a big blow following a 3-nil penalty shootout loss to KGH on Friday after a 1-1 draw in the regulation time at the Lamin football field on Friday.
Meanwhile, three out of the six teams making their first appearance have all progressed to the quarterfinal stage. The most impressive among them is Kairaba Forex Bureau, who were denied the opportunity of playing their first match.
Following that controversial misunderstanding, largely due to administrative incompetency, Kairaba Forex Bureau went on to win their remaining three matches in the group stage and have eventually topped their group with a superior goal difference ahead of Network FC.
Jatta’s FC were eliminated as a result of an appeal filed against them by KGH Sports for fielding in an unqualified/ineligible player.
The team was found wanting in that regard following a thorough investigation into the matter. They were subsequently deducted by three points in favour of KGH at a time when the latter were tied up with five points, with Jatta leading on goal difference.
We reproduce the full details of their standings in this table
The last two teams from each group will be docked into the relegation zone, the bottom team will go for normal preliminary qualifiers and the second from bottom will wait for the play-off while the first two teams have proceeded to the quarterfinal stage.
Below is the quarterfinal pairings:
Quarterfinal pairings
QF1 WINNER A (Banjul-nding) VS RUNNER-UP C (Vex Yard)
QF2 WINNER B (Sami Estate) VS RUNNER-UP D (Network FC)
QF3 WINNER C (Daranka united) VS RUNNER-UP A (Sanchaba United)
QF4 WINNER D (Kairaba Forex) VS RUNNER-UP B (KGH Sports)
