Scorpions take challenge to Black Stars in Accra
After marking a remarkable return to the Independence Stadium where they presented the country with a 2-1- victory over Somalia in the Afcon 2027 qualifiers on Friday, the Gallant Scorpions return to the spotlight tomorrow in Ghana.
The boys will lock horns with the Black Stars who lost 2-0 to Côte d’Ivoire in the opener of the qualifiers in Bouaké last week.
Ghanaian fans have been enduing heartbreaking performances by the Stars in recent years and have demanded a victory tomorrow at the Accra Sports Stadium.
That can even be a tall order against a Gambian side under pressure to improve after a narrow defeat of Somalia that many Gambians said was obtained in a non-convincing way. Tomorrow’s encounter will be the greatest test for the Scorpions who must stand up to Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in the group for a place in the finals in East Africa next year.
Banjul fanfare
The return of international football was graced by President Adama Barrow and thousands of fans eager to see the new look of the stadium and cheer the boys.
The players worked on the home fans’ expectations for an easy humbling of the Somali team with voracious attacks that forced the visitors to concede a penalty when Abubakar Barry was brought down in the box.
Ebrima Colley stepped up to convert the spot kick in the 18th minute to send the crowd into a rapturous applause, The Gambia maintained the high tempo but could not add on the tally to the break and as it further declined on resumption, the Somalis gave the homeside a rude awakening in the 72nd minute when Bilal Njie, a Somali player of Gambian father equalised.
Embarrassed, the Scorpions re-launched their might and in about ten minutes, in the 82nd minute,
Muhammed Badamosi headed home a splendid cross from Suleiman Camara to ensure victory which could have been sealed with a higher score line had The Gambia not thrown away subsequent chances.
Organisational bottleneck
The Gambia Football Federation’s sudden decision to transition from hard copy to digital tickets posed a high logistical nightmare at the gates as thousands queued to scan tickets leading to delays and frustrations.
There were inadequate scanning points and fans typically did not turn up early. Digital ticket selling may be the most ideal way forward but selling platform or platforms should be opened much earlier and adequate scanning points set up early on match days. Where there is hard copy selling alongside digital selling, care must be taken not to duplicate sales leading to different people claiming a seat number.
Security personnel involved in the organisation of matches must be strict but reasonable. People with valid tickets cannot be prevented from entering. Security must be tactful and coordinate well to ensure that those with valid tickets are swiftly processed, verified and allowed to pass.