National U-20 team coach Lamin Sarr has defended his team selection ahead of his side’s African Youth Championship qualifying double header with Morocco slated for the end of this month and August.

The team was expected to go to camp as we went to press yesterday at the Paradise Suites Hotel with a squad of 22 players ahead of the first round first leg qualifier for the 19th edition of the Championship slated for Friday 27th July in Rabat.

The Gambian team led by Lamin Sarr Observer Sports can reveal will be assisted by Alagie Sarr who guided Real de Banjul to its first Gambian premier league title in five years. With the return leg to be played in Banjul a fortnight after the first leg, Gambia will be hoping to secure a favourable result in Rabat with a place in the final round of qualifiers for the Algeria championship.

The team will be sliced to 18 players before departing Banjul next week to face their hosts on Friday 27th July. But with almost most of the early suspects in the squad, fans will be disappointed that two of the country’s brightest young talents in Gambia Ports Authority’s Hamza Barry and Buba ‘Meles’ Jallow of Real de Banjul have been left out of the squad with no reason advanced.

But the coach who also confirmed that Real Zaragoza’s Saihou Gassama and Lamin Basmen Samateh of NK Lokomotiva Zagred will also join the team came in for a lot of criticism from the electronic media for his team selection. But speaking to the local media this week, the coach said he has selected the best 22 players that he feel are ready to do the job for him.

“I have been training with the lads and they have been responsing to training well and the team that I selected is what I feel as the best that is available. There is no friendship between me and any player that would make me select him if he is not ready for the battle. If any player thinks that he was there before and will again be available even if he didn’t perform to expectation during training is fooling himself,” he added.

The players are mainly from the last U-20 squad that were knocked out at the group stage of the same competition in South Africa last year and players from the last U-17 team that participated in the 2011 championship in Rwanda. Lamin Sarr also added that he learnt a lot from former Gambia national team coach Paul Put and said that experience will help him a lot in this new assignment.

GAMBIA U-20 SCORPIONS PROVISIONAL LIST

Musa Camara Gamtel, Buba Sanyang Brikama Utd, Buba Sanneh Real De Bjl, Baboucarr Savage Real De Bjl, Adama Sabally Brik Utd, Musa Yaffa Bakau Utd, Omar Colley, Real De Bjl, Alieu Jaata Brik Utd, Saikou Jawneh Bakau Utd, Antou Badjan GPA, Ali Sowe Gamtel, Hamang Conteh Gamtel, Sulayman Marreh Samger, Mamut Saine SeaView, Lamin Sarjo Samateh Samger, Bubacarr Trawally Real De Bjl,Saloum Faal GPA, Momodou Bah Brik Utd,Ebrima Camara Liberty Professionals (Ghana), Dawda Sissoho GPA, Modou Njie Saar Real De Bjl andLanding Sonko Brik Utd.