The Gambia coach, Tom Saintfiet gave credit to a well-organized Senegal team after they were subjected to a 3-0 defeat in their opening Group C match of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 on Monday.

The Scorpions were subject to a clinical display by the defending champions who put three past them.

Speaking after the match, the coach apologized for the result and gave credit to the defending champions for a clinical display.

“We are sorry for this result. We wanted our performance to be better than this. We tried everything we could to come back with the result. After conceding early, Senegal was more effective and better organised, which was decisive in the match”, said a dejected Saintfiet.

We did not create many chances in the match. The big problem in the first half is that we were unable to find our footing. We lost 3-0 and this is considered a major defeat, and losing a man also made things worse for us", he added.

Commenting on the team’s chances for the rest of the competition, the coach said: “We will prepare well and we will be ready for the Guinea match. I know that we will be ready. Things have become difficult for us now, especially after losing by three. We need 4 points to qualify, so there is still hope”, concluded the coach.