CHAN2018: Senegal slap Sierra Leone back to reality

Senegal National B side proved too strong for Sierra Leone as the Local Stars were beaten 3-1 and eliminated 4-2 on aggregate in Dakar at the Alassane Djigo Stadium in Pikine (outskirts of Dakar) on Saturday.

The win sees the young Lions advance to the next round where they face Guinea who demolished Guinea Bissau 10-1 on aggregate.

The mauling at the hands of Senegal was an obvious harsh pull back to reality for the young stars, who in the last four years have not been playing any competitive local football at home.

The Local Stars even failed to win at home in the first leg in Freetown last weekend and that was the first point of disappointment in front of the home fans.

Following a 1-1 home draw at home, it comes as no surprise the teams’ preparation was making all the headlines for the wrong reasons, it was alleged that the first part of the delegation stranded in Guinea on their way to Dakar.

The hosts dominated their visitors in the entire second half in Dakar and even in Freetown; they were a difficult team to beat despite playing for almost 50 minutes with a man down.

In Dakar, the hosts took the lead in the opening five minutes, Amadou Ndiaye accounted for the opener.

The spirited Local Stars hurry forward to stun their host with an equaliser 1-1 a few minute after.

The first half ended 1-1, Alhassan Dior made it 2-1 to Senegal a few minutes into the restart as the Lions of Teranga restored their lead.

The Lions of Teranga continued their dominance as the Stars struggled to contain them.

Daouda Dieme also put his name on the score sheet for Senegal as he made it 3-1 five minutes after the hour-mark.

Senegal held on to their two-goal lead in the closing stages of the encounter and they ran out 3-1 winners.

Senegal have now eliminated Sierra Leone in the CHAN qualifiers for the second time. The first was on penalty shoot out after 1-1 aggregate draw in 2011, the first time Sierra Leone participated.

Mauritania was the second nation to knockout Sierra Leone over the two legs in 2015 in the 2016 qualifiers.

Sierra Leone was knocked-out from the 2016 tournament in the preliminary round by Mauritania thanks to a 4-1 aggregate win. The Mauritanians won the first leg 2-1 at the Nouakchott Stadium and six days later they registered a 2-0 victory at the same venue.