Sierra Leonean forward Samuel Gandi ended his nearly two-month goal drought on Sunday after scoring for Politehnica UTM in their 2-1 home defeat to Zimbru Chisinau in the Moldovan Super Liga.

The 19-year-old forward opened the scoring in the eighth minute, giving Politehnica an early advantage, according to Moldova.sports.md.

Gandi’s goal brought an end to an eight-match scoreless run for the young striker, who had not found the back of the net since earlier in the season.

However, Politehnica were unable to hold on to their lead as Zimbru fought back to secure a 2-1 victory in the 12th round of the league, according to Flashscore.

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The result moved Zimbru to the top of the Super Liga standings with 26 points from 12 matches, while Politehnica remained fifth with 15 points.

Speaking after the match, Gandi expressed disappointment with the result but called on his team to learn from their mistakes ahead of their next fixture.

“It was a difficult match. We prepared well and came with the desire to get a positive result. Unfortunately, the final score was not what we wanted,” Gandi said, according to Moldfootball.com.

“We need to carefully analyze our mistakes and correct them before the next match,” he added.

Zimbru midfielder Eugeniu Cociuc acknowledged that his team did not produce its best performance but praised Politehnica for their display.

“The most important thing is that we won. It was not our best game. Let’s give credit to the opponent. Politehnica is a very well-coached team, they play very good football,” Cociuc said.

The goal was Gandi’s sixth of the season in 13 appearances, according to Flashscore. The Freetown-born, left-footed forward has also represented Sierra Leone at senior and under-20 level.

Politehnica UTM will look to return to winning ways when they face Petrocub in the 13th round of the Moldovan Super Liga, while Zimbru will host Dacia Buiucani.