Holders Senegal and Gambia make strong starts to WAFU ‘A’ women’s tournament
Defending champions Senegal and the Gambia made strong starts to this year's WAFU-A women's tournament after gunning down their respective rivals in Sal, Cape Verde on Saturday.
Holders Senegal recorded a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Guinea while the Gambia pulled off an impressive 4-1 mauling of Sierra Leone on the matchday two of the tournament at Stade Marcelo Leitao.
The Senegalese did not waste time to get their title defence off to a bright start as striker Hapsatou Malado Diallo opened the scoring in the fifth minute before the 17-year-old netted her second to double the lead five minutes later.
On the brink of half-time, the Guineans were exposed again when captain Korka Fall notched the third goal of the match to extend the lead for the Senegalese.
After the break, the title holders continued from where they left off, securing the fourth through Jeanne Niang 11 minutes after the restart to guarantee the win.
Haby Balde won the Woman-of-the-Match award following her excellent individual contribution in the Teranga Lionesses' victory.
The other encounter of the day took similar trend as Catherine Jatta fired the Gambians in front as early as two minutes of action before she grabbed her brace in the 20th minute to give a two-goal cushion at half time.
After the restart, the poisonous Scorpions regained dominance in the contest and further added a third of the match through Jatta's hat trick just four minutes before the hour mark.
With three goals down, the Leone stars, however, fought hard to reduce the deficit and were rewarded with a breakthrough when Matilda Kabba pulled one back in the 62nd minute.
Irked by the goal conceded, the Gambians went all out to regain their three-goal advantage and Jatta delivered a fourth of the match 10 minutes later to complete the rout.
After notching four goals, the Gambia heroine Catherine Jatta was deservedly rewarded with the Woman-of-the-Match accolade.
🏆Torneio Feminino UFOA A
— Federação Cabo-verdiana de Futebol (@fcfcomunica) January 21, 2023
Grupo 🅱️
🏟️ Marcelo Leitão
🇸🇱 1️⃣-4️⃣ 🇬🇲
⚽️ Kabba Maltida 🇸🇱
⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️ Catherine Jatta 🇬🇲
Melhor Jogadora em Campo: Catherine Jatta 🇬🇲 #WomenWAFUA2023 | #UFOAAFeminin2023 #Futebol | #FutebolFeminino | #IlhaDoSal | #UFOAA | #SerraLeoa | #Gambia pic.twitter.com/O6omTguBH8
REACTIONS
Sekou Tidiane, Guinea's head coach: "It was a feeling of disappointment today against a great Senegalese team that had a great mental, physical, technical and tactical preparation. We could not live up to the level of Senegal but I hope that in the next two games, we can improve our performance and attack with force. We have to recognize that they were better than us and we congratulated them. I will encourage my players to maintain a strong mentality for us to stay in the competition.
Mame Moussa Cisse, Senegal's head coach: "This championship was an excellent chance for us to prepare for the World Cup and also provides us good friendly games. Our players started at the top level in the first few minutes of the match, we scored the first two goals but we still have some aspects to rectify for a little more improvement. We can correct some mistakes that persist so that we can be in better condition to face the teams we will meet in New Zealand for the Women's World Cup playoff."
Sarah Bangura, Sierra Leone's captain: "We are a young team coming up, this is like the first experience for some players, we've learnt from our mistakes we hope to correct our mistakes in the next match coming on Monday."
Mariama Sowe, the Gambia head coach: "It is a very good start because every coach is looking forward to getting your 3 points in the tournament. The first game was very important, though it was not a very tough game we got three points, and also scored four goals by Catherine Jatta. Senegal were the defending champions, and we are coming all out to get the three points, if we can't get the three points, we have a different game plan, but we are coming all out. We are not taking any game lightly, because this is women's football, expect the unexpected, we are coming all out to secure our three points."
Gambia's Catherine Jatta, Woman of the Match: "I'm very happy right now. I'm also really happy for my teammates, my coach and everyone that supported me on the field. I'm grateful and really thankful to all of them."
Full Result
20.01.2023
Cape Verde 4-0 Guinea Bissau
21.01.2023
Senegal 4-0 Guinea
Sierra Leone 1-4 Gambia
Full Fixtures
22.01.2023
Mauritania vs Guinea Bissau
23.01.2023
Guinea vs Sierra Leone