Sierra Leone's U-20 women's team made an unconvincing start to their WAFU A U-20 Women's Cup campaign on home soil after they were held to a drab 1-1 draw by Guinea at Southern Arena in Bo on Wednesday.
Sierra Leone were favourites to deliver the maximum points against their Guinean counterparts in the opening match of the regional age-grade women's tournament.
As predicted, Sierra Leone made a bright start to the encounter when captain Kadiatu Kamara opened their scoring inside the opening two minutes of action for the hosts.
Despite the barrage of attempts to add another, the hosts were kept at bay by their visitors before they were later stunned by Fatoumata Dede Diallo a minute from the half time break.
After the break, efforts to find a late winner by Hassan Mansaray's side were rebuffed by the Guineans as both sides ended up sharing the spoils at the end of regulation time.
Meanwhile, Senegal started their campaign for regional glory in ruthless fashion, easing past Guinea-Bissau with a 4-0 win.
Hapsatou Diallo set the ball rolling for the Senegalese when she broke the deadlock as early as the fourth minute of the match at the same venue.
After the early lead, the Senegalese could not find a way past the Guineans, who were seeking to avoid defeat until Wolimatu Ndiaye broke their resilience when she scored the second goal seven minutes into the second half.
Five minutes later, Diallo grabbed her brace of the match before the hot prospect notched her third of the night to ensure the Senegalese's fourth of the season and wraped up the big opening triumph.
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WHAT THEY SAID:
Sierra Leone captain Kadiatu Kamara: "It was a very good game. There was so much pressure on us and Sierra Leone was playing with the crowd that almost distracted us. I want to thank my teammates because they endured all the pressure from the opponents."
Sierra Leone coach Hassan Mansaray: "After we have scored the first goal, we are pressing for another goal but my ladies had some complacency in their minds before they conceded the equalizing goal. Notwithstanding, it was a good performance for the girls, because a good number of them were representing the national team for the first time. Our dream is to win the tournament and drawing the first match does not mean we can't achieve it. We will try to win our next match to reach the final."
Guinea captain Sonia Dasilva: "It was difficult, playing with the hosting country, also that we didn't know our opponents so well. We were united and we made efforts to equalize the goal. We will try every possible best to attain victory for the pride of our nation. We believe in ourselves and our coaches. We are going to do the possible best to win the trophy."
Guinea coach Alfa Umaro Balde: "I congratulate my teammates who have been up and doing despite the pressure from different quarters. I appreciate them for having the spirit of resilience to overcome such pressures from start to finish."
