U20 WC Montreal: Gambia Earns Big W At The Big O

By David Blye

Montreal — Lightning doesn’t usually strike twice in the same spot. After Poland earned a shocking win over Brazil in the opening match of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, Montreal was the last place anyone expected to be the scene of another.

But Sunday night, Gambia showed the world how wide open this tournament really is.

In spite of being reduced to 10 men early in the second half and facing a heavily pro-Portugal crowd, Gambia held on for the massive upset, defeating a heavily favoured Portugal side by a score of 2-1. Gambian head coach Peter Johnson was elated with his team’s historic win.

“Thanks be to God,” Johnson said. “Knowing the experience that the Portguese team has, we came in with one tactic but unfortunately, we allowed an early goal. But the boys put up a good fight and made sure we carried the three points.”

At the outset, it didn’t look as if the Olympic Stadium was going to be the scene of another upset. The Portuguese began the game pressing forward, keeping the ball in the Gambian third and winning numerous corners and free kicks. Twenty minutes on, their hard work was rewarded when defender Pedro Correia’s cross met the head of midfielder Feliciano Condesso who slotted the ball past keeper Joseph Gomez.

Portugal continued to apply the pressure in the later stages of the half, but could not double its tally despite a number of set pieces.

This would prove costly as in the 44th minute Gambia was awarded a penalty after a foul in the area. Up stepped forward Ousman Jallow who made no mistake from 12 yards out leveling the score 1-1 at half time.

Soon after the restart, both sides would suffer a setback. Fifty eight minutes on, Gambia defender Ken Jammeh delivered a hard challenge on Portuguese full back Andre Marques. The tackle would knock Marques out of the game injured while Jammeh was set off for the action.

While Gambia was reduced to 10 men, it was Portugal who seemed more unsettled by the play. In the ensuing action, it was Gambia who pressed forward and made the most of its opportunities. In the 68th minute, Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio was deemed to have batted a free kick from Abdoulie Mansally into his own net. The own goal put Gambia up 2-1. A late injury to Portuguese captain Bruno Gama essentially ended any chance for a comeback.

Portuguese head coach Jose Couceiro felt that the penalty was a turning point as his team was unable to recover after the break, eventually leading to the own goal.

“Conceding the penalty kick right before the end of the first was not a good time to allow that goal,” Couceiro said. “We came back in the second half and continued to control play but due to a defensive error, we took the second goal. That’s when the team lost its confidence.”

For his part, Johnson was quick to point out the importance of the win for Gambian society.

“I think this was one of the greatest wins for Gambian soccer because it will unite the whole country,” Johnson said. “We were unfortunate in the [2005 FIFA Under-17 World Cup] to not go beyond the group stage and this time around, we have.”

Sunday’s result moved to Gambia second in Group C while Portugal ended in third. Both teams are now on to the second round with Gambia meeting Austria on July 11 and Portugal taking on Chile on July 12. Both games will be played at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.