Sierra Stars lost their first leg by four goals to one (4-1) in Banjul and they also lost to their opponents at home by three goals to zero (3-0) bringing an aggregate of 7-1
The courses for the battering of our U-17 Sierra Stars by the Baby Scorpion of the Gambia were that the team lacked the necessary support from government and the Sierra Leone football Association (SLFA), compared to the support given to the National team Leone Stars.
When the boys started training for their first match against Liberia who withdrew from the competition it was the SLFA President Nahim Kadi who provided the first set of money for the players for there transportation during their training period.
After that the team stopped training as the SLFA Congress was approaching. After the Congress the team resumed training and after some weeks the team went into the provinces to play several friendly matches with no allowances for the players this is another factor.
The other factor that also affected the team is the interference of the coordinator Alhaji Alim Sesay (Awoko) who dismissed the head coach Christian Cole on the eve of the team departure to the Gambia this also affected the team greatly as most of the players who spoke to Awoko Sports said they lost the team spirit as coach Cole was encouraging them during their difficult period when there were no allowances for them.
And this allowances problem continued about two days to the return match when the players decided to abandon the camp for their allowances but were afraid to speak to the press.
The other factor that affected the team is the administration problem which is the responsibility of the Secretariat.
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