The Scorpions of The Gambia defeated the Bright Stars of South Sudan 3-2 during match-day five of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers played at the Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia, Egypt on Wednesday.
The Gambia had earlier taken the lead twice, in a five-goal thriller, through an own-goal courtesy of Rehan Malong and Ablie Jallow in the 4rd and 61st minutes. South Sudan also rallied twice from a goal down to draw 2-2 through Yuel Kuach and Ajak Chol’s header from a corner in the 21st and 91st minutes respectively.
Substitute Hamza Barry scored in the sixth minute of added time to help Gambia beat South Sudan 3-2 in a five-goal thriller in Suez, to keep alive their hopes of qualifying to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
“It was a very tough game. We knew before the game that South Sudan was not an easy opponent. We earlier played against them during the opening game of the qualifiers and the result was 1-0,” said Coach Saintfiet.
He added that they saw how the Sudanese played against Congo and Mali, and struggled against them.
“But it was even tougher than we expected against them. We scored quite early but later dropped in the level of the performance which they used to equalize surprisingly.”
According to him, they started the second half very well, dominating possession and later scored the second goal through Ablie Jallow’s brilliant strike in the 61st minute.
“We could have scored other goals earlier before conceding another equalizing goal from South Sudan. This was really a cold-shower but the belief was there and the players were more determined to win and I am very proud of the team for taking the victory in the dying minutes.”
The Belgian-Gambian Coach asserted that the goal was not the first time his side scored a winner in the dying minutes, adding that it is as a result of the team’s quality.
Meanwhile, the victory moves The Gambia to second position in Group G with nine points, three clear of Congo who will face leaders Mali in the other group match. South Sudan’s dreams of a maiden qualification to the Cup of Nations has been dashed and they will now only play the last group match as a formality.
