By Arfang M.S. Camara
Guarantee Trust Bank (GTBank) and Trust Bank Limited (TBL) became the second two sets of teams to complete the line-up of the ongoing Late Governor Jatta Memorial Inter-Bank Football tournament following their respective wins in games played at the Independence Stadium in Bakau last Wednesday.
GTBank defeated the defending champions, Zenith Bank 6-5 in a post-match shootout following a goalless draw in the regulation.
The game which was played for two days, both Tuesday and Wednesday, was termed as the clash of titans. The Tuesday game was postponed due to the power failure at the Independence Stadium in Bakau.
Pa Omar Jobarteh, head manager of GTBank expressed delight after eliminating the defending champions, Zenith Bank.
“We are very happy to win against Zenith Bank this time around. We met last year in the final and they beat us heavily. It was a bitter pill to swallow,” he said.
He added that that’s why they came this year with the sole aim to revenue, adding that they wanted to beat Zenith Bank in the regulation time but saying his boys couldn’t convert their chances created.
According to him, they were sure of defeating Zenith Bank in the regulation period if the light didn’t go off during Tuesday’s encounter, noting that now their aim was to go to the final and win the trophy.
Yusupha Sarr, head coach of Zenith Bank expressed disappointment for the final result, while blaming their defeat due to the changes in the lineup and tactics by his technical staff.
“This is football is about winning and losing. I came late to the game and found out that they changed my lineup and tactics of the game. This is something which really makes me so disappointed,” he said.
He added that football is all about training, noting that playing the unfit players, who doesn’t come for training “will not give you the result you want”
According to coach Sarr, they shouldn’t have even gone to the penalty shootout against GTBank, adding that because they have a much more good and formidable side than GTBank.
Elsewhere, Trust Bank Limited also defeated Access Bank 1-0 in the late encounter on Wednesday to also progress into the semifinal of the tournament.
At the time of going to press yesterday, on Sunday, BSIC Bank were taking on FBN Bank in the first semifinal game, before Guarantee Trust Bank (GTBank) playing against Trust Bank in the second semifinal game at the Independence Stadium in Bakau.
