CISSÉ PRAISES ZAMBIA AFTER FIVE-GOAL THRILLER IN MOHAMMEDIA
Senegal coach Serigne Cissé has praised the fighting spirit and quality of the Copper Queens following Zambia’s 3-2 victory over his side in a thrilling TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) Group A clash on Tuesday evening in Mohammedia.
The result marked Zambia’s first-ever open-play win over Senegal at WAFCON, moving them level on points with Morocco at the top of the group.
For Cissé, the match was one of fine margins and one that, in his view, slipped away due to key individual errors.
“We found ourselves in the competition after a bad game. We asked the players to try to attack and not wait for them. That’s what we did in the first minutes. We scored the first goal, then they equalised on an individual error, it happens in football.” Cissé said.
“In the second half, as soon as we came back, they scored again on an individual error. We saw a very, very good team from Zambia.”
Zambia responded with calm and control after falling behind in the 5th minute, with Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji leading from the front.
Banda equalised just minutes later and then netted again in the second half to seal a brace and become the first Zambian to score in back-to-back WAFCON matches.
While he felt his players deserved a point, Cissé made no excuses and congratulated the Copper Queens for their resilience.
“I want to congratulate them for the efforts they made. They fought, they gave everything. I think that overall, we deserved at least one point. But that’s football,” he said.
“So I congratulate the girls. I congratulate the Zambian team for their victory.”
Cissé was particularly impressed with how Zambia adapted to the intensity of the game.
“We didn’t expect an easy match against Zambia, and we also don’t expect an easy match against Morocco on Saturday. I think the girls showed very good things, we are going to study the match, especially in the second half,” he noted.