Two Burkinabes and boys from Nigeria, Mali, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal, and Ivory Coast played in a single UEFA Europa Conference League match for Moldovan club Sheriff FC on Thursday night.The club that famously beat Real Madrid at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu faced Serbian team Partizan in the play-off first leg and fielded the most African-looking line-ups ever seen on a European football pitch.Sheriff’s Italian coach Roberto Bordin fielded Ukrainian goalie Maksym Koval, and ten African players in front of him. Oh, and he brought another African off the bench in the second half.Back four consisting of young Ivorian Armel Zouhouri, Zimbabwean Munashe Garananga, Cameroonian Gaby Kiki and Ghanaian Patrick Kpozo was seldom tested in the first half, but they conceded the only goal in that period. The goalscorer? Ricardo Gomes, former Cape Verde international, Partizan’s best goalscorer, who hit his 20th goal of the season. You couldn’t make it up!In the middle of the park for the champions of Moldova, the trio of Moussa Kyabou, currently on loan from Ivorian Premiere Division club USC Kita, Burkinabe Cedric Badolo and Senegalese Mouhamed Diop dictated the tempo but were exposed for their glaring lack of experience of playing European knockout matches.##NAJAVA_MECA_7031136##Moroccan winger with a lot of experience of playing in France, Amine Talal took up a position on the right wing, while another Burkinabe Abdoul Tapsoba attacked from the opposite flank. Shortly after the break, Talal had to come off after getting injured by a terrible tackle by Partizan’s Igor Vujacic, who was sent off for his troubles. In place of him arrived another African from the bench, eight-times Niger international midfielder Abdoul Moumouni.Nigerian forward Iyayi Believe Atiemwen led the attack. Just four years ago, Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb spent nearly $3 million to sign the Ogbe-born forward.Garananga was also shown a straight red for a professional foul on Partizan’s Malian Fuseni Diabate, but he was let off the hook after a VAR review which showed that the Partizan’s winger had handled the ball just before the foul.Unfortunately for Sheriff, despite all their dominance, confirmed by just about every stat of the match, their lack of experience really cost them when faced with the Serbian team. In a way, Sheriff’s Africans shot the Sheriff.🇲🇩Moldova has reportedly deported a group of Partizan Belgrade fans who travelled to watch the team’s Europa Conference League game against Sheriff Tiraspol in Chisinau.The decision comes a day after President Maia Sandu claimed Serbs were organising a coup in the country. pic.twitter.com/XDm2nnTTUZ— Sam Street (@samstreetwrites) February 14, 2023 The extraordinary African team plays in a country that has so many problems, painfully akin to those in Africa. Although nominally in the country of Moldova, Tiraspol is actually the capital of the breakavay state of Transnistria, the breakaway state that’s not recognizes by the United Nations nor most of the world. It’s like a black hole on Earth. They’ve got so many issues – but football is alive there. And apparently, the strange state has a lot to offer to young African footballers looking for a break in the European game.UEFA EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUEPlay-off, first legThursdayBodo/Glimt – Lech Poznan 0-0Braga – Fiorentina 0-4 (0-1)/Jovic 45+1, 60, Cabral 79, 90/Qarabag – KAA Gent 1-0 (0-0)/Andrade 78/Trabzonspor – Basel 1-0 (0-0)/Larsen 65/AEK Larnaca – Dnipro 1-0 (0-0)/Garcia 84/Lazio – Cluj 1-0 (1-0)/Immobile 45+4/Ludogorets – Anderlecht 1-0 (1-0)/Thiago 9/Sheriff Tiraspol – Partizan 0-1 (0-1)/Gomes 45/
