Gambia through to 2023 AFCON group stage qualifiers

By Arfang M.S. Camara

The Scorpions of The Gambia yesterday, Tuesday qualified to the 2023 AFCON group stage qualifiers after playing a 2-2 draw against Chad during their second leg game played in Agadir, Morocco.

The visitors, Chad opened the scoring in the 27th minute, before Assan Ceesay equalized for the Scorpions in the 30th minute before going for the break.

Les Sao of Chad scored their second goal in the early minutes of the second half, while the Scorpions scored late to level the tie through Assan Ceesay’s second goal from the spot in the 88th minute of the second half.

The Gambia eliminated Chad after a 3-2 aggregate following a 1-0 win for the Scorpions in the first leg.

The Gambian side that made their first AFCON tournament appearance during the last edition, nearly got eliminated from participating in the next edition of the AFCON group stage qualifiers by the Chadians.

The Scorpions team went into yesterday’s game with an away advantage after defeating Chad 1-0 away. Bubacarr ‘Steve’ Trawally scored the only goal of the match during the first leg encounter played in Cameroon last week.

The Gambia will now be aiming to make their second appearance in next year’s AFCON tournament in Ivory Coast after progressing into the group stage qualifiers.