January 12, (THEWILL) – Gambia began their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations campaign with a 1-0 victory over Mauritania, thanks to a first-half strike in the second game of Group F of the TotalEnergies 2021 AFCON.
It was a tight match between two of the more recent additions to the elite African football landscape, with Gambia making their first AFCON appearance and Mauritania in their second, after debuting in the 2019 tournament.
Ablie Jallow of Belgian First Division A team Seraing scored the game’s lone goal in the 10th minute at the Stade de Limbe in Cameroon. The 23-year-old winger did an excellent job of getting the ball out from beneath his feet, with his 20-yard shot eluding Mauritania goalkeeper Babacar Diop and into the far corner.
It was a remarkable occasion for Gambia, who had to wait for their debut game against Mauritania because kickoff was delayed owing to chaos in the other Group F encounter between Tunisia and Mali, as THEWILL reported.
Things did not get off to a cheery start in this match as well, with the wrong anthem being played with Mauritania’s players shaking their heads in displeasure.
As the game progressed, however, Gambia looked to add another goal after their 10th minute lead, but the audacious shot from long range that Bologna’s Musa Barrow tried went safely beyond the goal.
Then, Mauritania gradually began to grow into the game and before halftime the former Fulham striker Aboubakar Kamara turned himself into a persistent presence in attack, keeping the Gambian defence on their toes.
Early in the second half, a free kick from Ebrima Colley found Omar Colley at the far post, but the Sampdoria defender could not direct his header on goal. Gambia was made to withstand wave after wave of attacks from Mauritania, with the latter dominating possession and recording a total of 20 shots.
But, crucially, only two of those attempts were on target, and Gambia held on for three points, as Diop was forced to make a smart save from Barrow late on to finish the match with that early goal only.
The result meant that eight of the first eleven AFCON matches ended in a 1-0 scoreline.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
