‘Fatigue and inexperience costs us,’ Scorpions captain

Captain Abdou Jammeh

Scorpions captain Abdou Jammeh has attributed his team’s defeat to Ivory Coast over the weekend to jetlag and inexperience which he claims cost them the match at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan.

Jammeh said that he and his teammates were tired by the fact that, “travelling from Europe to Niger was very far and there was still fatigue in us which took us time to settle down”.

The 27-year-old said they were not playing as a unit because they were mixed with “some very young players who do not have any World Cup qualifying experience”.

Asked about the exclusion of Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba, the Scorpions defender said that the exclusion of the former Chelsea and Shanghai Shenhua striker does not mean anything to them.

“We are only concerned about ourselves and our game plan, because football is not about an individual.”

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Tanzania’s Taifa Stars put in an impressive second half performance to beat the Atlas Lions of Morocco 3-1 in an exciting match of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

Kim Poulsen’s men were unable to break the deadlock before the break despite a dominant display, but substitute Thomas Ulimwengu gifted Tanzania the lead only a minute into the second half.

The hosts continued to dominate after the opener and Mbwana Samata eventually made it two, and secured the points with his second of the day. Morocco scored a consolation goal through Grenada striker Yousef Elarabi in the last minute of the match.

The result leaves Tanzania second in their group with 6 points from three games, while Morocco remain in third place with 2 points from three games. Ivory Coast are on top with 7 points. Gambia meanwhile, under the leadership of Luciano Mancini, are bottom of the standings with just one point from three outings.