Reigning Africa Champions Senegal sent a strong signal to the rest of the teams in the competition, with an emphatic 3-0 win over The Gambia in their opening match of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
It was an early strike from Pape Gueye and a second half brace from Lamine Camara that ensured this total victory for the defending champions at Yamoussoukro’s Stade Charles Konan Banny.
The Gambians, who were quarter-finalists in the last edition were outclassed by the reigning champions, though they tried tried re-grouping and fighting their way back into the match, but were met by a resolute and disciplined Senegalese defence.
It became worse when Ebrima Adams was sent off for an early shower after a vicious tackle on the young Lamine Camara just before the break and this ensured two more goals in the second half.
Senegal would take on Cameroon in a mouth-watering tie on Friday, 19 January.
Senegal national team coach, Aliou Cisse expressed his satisfaction the output of his team sayin
g the team did well under the trying conditions of the heat and played well despite the challenges.
‘I am very satisfied with the performance of the players, especially since things were difficult given the climatic conditions and heat that we faced. We will continue to work hard on a few things that need to be rectified but overall, I am very happy with this victory’, said the coach.
On the young sensation, Lamine Camara who put up a TotalEnergies Man of the Match performance on his TotalEnergies CAF AFCON debut, Cisse boldly stated that it was his time to shine.
‘Lamine Camara is a young player, and his time has come. He scored two goals against Gambia and gave a distinguished performance on the field. The young player must be trusted and developed,’ he added.
Source: Ghana News Agency