By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
Sierra Leone Female U-20 national team lost to their Senegalese counterparts 1-0 on Saturday. The loss means Sierra Queens have it all to do to turn the tie around by defeating Senegal in the second leg of this fixture.
This fixture is a preliminary qualifier for the FIFA Female U-20 World Cup which will be played in Panama and Costa Rica later this year.
On Saturday, the Sierra Leonean girls put on a brilliant display throughout the first half, only to concede in the second half of the match. Their dominance continued even after the goal, but they couldn’t break a resolute Senegalese defense.
After the match, the coach of Senegal, Mamadou Diallo, said it was deliberate for him to set up his team for defense.
“My team plan was to play defensive because I knew we are coming away. So, when you go away you try to play a bit more defensive because I know the 1st of February, I will be hosting Sierra Leone, so that is why we decided to play defensive here,” Diallo said during the post-match press conference.
He added: “I just want to thank my team because we worked well over the last one month now. We are here today, and they really delivered what we have been working towards. It was not easy for us because to play away match in Africa is so difficult.”
The Sierra Leone coach, Alhaji Foray, said he was pleased with his side’s performance, despite the loss. Foray noted that the aim for the next match will be a victory.
“Our aim and objective is for the girls to do well. I believe we are going to Senegal on February 1st to win the second leg,” he said at the same press conference.
“Me and the technical team will go back to the drawing board and asses our mistake. We will go to Senegal and get a very good result,” he added.
Sierra Leone must win the second leg by two goals or better to qualify for the next phase of the qualifiers. With a one goal advantage, there is a possibility the Senegalese might seat deep in the second leg and absorb the pressure from Sierra Leone, whiles picking them off during counter attacks.
Coach Diallo refused to reveal his plans but said they would be a bit comfortable since they would be hosting.
“I will not tell you journalists how we will set up in the return leg, but we will change some things which you will see, because we now have one goal lead,” he said.
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