Real de Banjul head coach Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko says he is sorry for his players because they deserved all three points in the derby against Wallidan that produced a 1-1 draw at the Live Your Dream Sports Academy on Friday.

“I [kind of] feel sorry for the boys because they deserved the three points. I saw a good spirit. I saw a team that wanted to win. I saw a lot of positive things and I am really happy for the boys with the way they performed,” Zahovaiko said immediately after the game.

The City Boys’ hope for the league’s first derby triumph was challenged when the visitors scrambled home an early opener before new-signing Ousman Kujabi equalized midway through the second half to salvage a point for Zahovaiko’s men.

“The first half was really difficult, I think the weather was like 37 degrees. It’s not easy to play in those conditions but we tried. We knew that in the second half we could bring fresh legs and we did that. The first half was really difficult but we could’ve won the game especially in the second half.”

He added: “The initiative was in our hands. We brought in some fresh legs who brought good energy for us in the second and Wallidan was struggling. So, we are a little bit disappointed of the result. I think we played a good match.”

He rued his team’s finishing in the final third of the pitch saying: “I think we have to work on our finishing qualities, that’s the biggest problem at the moment! We are creating chances but we are not scoring,” Zahovaiko said before adding that “it’s a matter of time I believe, the medicine is just working hard in the training sessions.”

The draw at home against our arch-rivals put the City Boys in second place, four points adrift of Fortune FC in the GFF League 2022/23 table standings after match-day four.