A New Era!

Congratulations to our wonderful Scorpions who gave such a masterful performance against Liberia over the weekend and emerged victorious on a scoreline of 3-0. The score could have been even higher as the boys looked very sharp and their finishing looked infinitely better than it has in the recent past.

Their performance on the pitch is a great hope for The Gambia but of course it is not only the boys themselves who should be thanked and lauded. The influence of Coach Paul Put can be seen very clearly in the way the team is playing. Not only did their finishing show a marked improvement but their general discipline was also greatly improved.

Their strength in midfield was plain to see and their holding play was very tight. The GFA must be highly commended for their efforts in securing the services of Coach Paul Put and President Jammeh and Africell must be commended for their financial support in securing the international manager.

The investment that Paul Put is overseeing in professional training equipment will also hopefully continue to bear fruit for our national team and so should be maintained and even increased.

We are now in a very good position to secure a place in the African Cup of Nations and World Cup 2010 as our fate lies in our own hands. If we win our game in Senegal then we will earn qualification and nobody can stop us.

This means that if we simply apply ourselves fully we can take our place among the top footballing nations of the world.

The Senegalese team are not strong at the moment as their defeat at the hands of Algeria over the weekend clearly illustrated.

The Scorpions can defeat them as long as they do not lose concentration or succumb to physchological pitfalls.

In the aftermath of the weekends game many people discussed the match and it was disappointing to hear so many say that to go to Dakar and come home with a victory is “impossible”.

This is an old and dangerous mindset and we must consign it to the annals of history. We have a young vibrant team who look set to usher in a new era in Gambian football.

We praise them and hope they live up to their potential and we thank all those who have been instrumental in bringing about this great change in our sporting history.