Shooting Stars missed the chance of qualifying to the next stage of the U-20 competition when they failed to defeat the Senegalese in Freetown , says coach Abu Sankoh.
The team suffered a 2-0 aggregate (3-1) loss to Senegal in Dakar on Saturday. The Stars are out of the competition.
Speaking to Concord Sports in Senegal over the weekend, Sankoh said the 1-1 score line in Freetown was a major problem for his side's exit in the early stage of the competition.
“We arrived in Senegal with lots of pressure on our side to get a goal and in the quest, we conceded two goals. The boys played well but were unable to break through the Senegalese defense. At the end, we paid severely for our poor finishing,” Sankoh said.
Senegalese Coach, Mayacine Mar told Concord Sports that the Shooting Stars have lots of talented players but lack scoring ability.
“They can pass and distribute the ball well but lack the finishing quality. We noticed that from the first leg and we implemented our techniques which helped us greatly,” he said.
Serigne Amath Gueye was the Senegalese hero whose double strikes sent Shooting Stars out of the competition.
Gueye who was on target in Freetown, opened the score line in Senegal through a defensive blunder as he wasted no time to get pass Stars goalkeeper, Kanu and looped the ball into the back of the net comfortably.
The second goal came in the 65th minute from a counter attack after midfielder Diop El-hadji Habib's 20-yard shot was saved by goalkeeper Kanu but led to a loose ball and Gueye struggled to finish it.
