Ethan Bojang and The Gambia reached the semi-finals of the U20 African Cup of Nations before being narrowly knocked out by Ghana.
Rovers U18’s captain spent more than a month in host country Mauritania with The Gambia squad and the 18-year-old played in two of their early fixtures in the tournament. He started in the first game of the tournament in central midfield against Morocco, a game which The Gambia dominated with the lion’s share of possession in their favour.
Gambia didn’t craft many opportunities despite the possession and unfortunately lost the game 1-0. However, a 1-1 draw against Tanzania and a stunning effort to come from behind and earn a 2-1 victory over favourites Ghana with only ten men was enough to see Bojang and his team-mates progress from their group and leapfrog their opponents into in second place.
They met Central African Republic in the Quarter-final and they breezed past them 3-0. Bojang came off the bench in this clash in the 55th minute at 2-0 and helped his team extend their lead before seeing out a game they had led since the fifth minute.
Next it was the semi-finals and it was Ghana who were once again the opponents. The side had qualified for the knock-out stages by being one of the strongest third placed teams across the groups. Bojang was an unused substitute in the semi-final which The Gambia lost 1-0.
Gambia face Tunisia in a third place play off on Friday, March 5. Kick-off 8pm.