Africell were one of the latest teams to book a place in the next round of the ongoing Gamtel Sponsored FA cup championship, with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against promoted GPA side at the Independence Stadium in Bakau on Saturday.
Cherno Njie put the relegated Africell ahead after slotting home a superb close-range strike after 10th minutes from break.
The Ferry Boys occasionally went close to the leveling score through Hatab Badjie, Abdoulie Faye, Saloum Faal and Captain Alagie Fatajo, but they were denied by poor finishin strategies.
Africell doubled their lead in the 70th minute when defender Matarr Ceesay put the ball into his own net, following a brilliant cross from Cherno Njie to give the Cellular Boys a comfortably 2-0 lead under the jeers of an unimpressive attendance.
Despite missing their numerous scoring opportunities in both intervals, the Ferry Boys under the guardians of former U-20 Coach, Peter Bonu Johnson scored their consolation courtesy of Abdou Faye's diving header with only 3minutes remaining. But that was not good enough to earn the Ferry Boys a happy moment.
Speaking to reporters shortly after the encounter, the Head Coach of GPA Bonu Johnson blamed his boys for what he referred to as the lack of concentration. But he was quick to add that Africell FC were the luckiest team of the day. He remarked that the winners deserve to be qualified to the next stage of the championship.
For his part, the Head Coach of the victorious Africell FC Ousman Janneh commended GPA for showcasing a respectable performance, noting that they are a team to be reckoned with.
"It was a hard-fought game because these two teams are two forces to be reckoned with in the Gambian football. We are only making effort to build a stronger team, following our relegation to the second league," Coach Janneh remarked.
"We will try as much as we can to win against our next opponent Seaview FC. Elsewhere Young African defeated Interior by 3-1 in post matches penalty shooting," he concluded.
