CECAFA U20: Kenya falls in last game, books semi with Uganda

• Print PDF

Hosts Eritrea beat Kenya 1-0 in the process picked Rwanda as their semi final opponents as the Cecafa Under-20 football tournament’s preliminaries came to an end at the Asmara Stadium, in Eritrea on Monday.

Kenya who finished Group A in second place faces defending champions Uganda in the semi finals set for Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

Tanzania beat Sudan 1-0 in an earlier match but both teams join Somalia in going home early after failing to gunner enough points. Also going home early are Yemen and Zanzibar from Group B.

a waterlogged pitch

Against Kenya, Eritrea scored in the 58th minute through Meron Hebteslus who walked in the ball past Kenya second choice goalkeeper Musa Mohamed, who otherwise had a great afternoon.

The match was played, especially the second half, on a waterlogged pitch following heavy rains. They faired better in these conditions as their opponents were done by their insistence on playing ground football.

But the Kenyan coach, Vince Ombiji was not disturbed saying the defeat could be a blessing in disguise.

“If Eritrea plays well (against Rwanda) we shall beat them in the final," he told a post match press conference.

Optimistic that his side would make the final

"You can only win a tournament like this by beating the hosts and defending champions. We are faced by both and it is our plan to beat them both," he said.

He blamed his boys for not adopting properly to the pitch conditions. "They needed to push the ball harder but they did not and we lost," he said.

His Eritrean counterpart Negash Teklit said Rwanda, who are fielding an Under-17 side, may not be an easy meal. "No one expected them to reach this far. Now that they have, they may turn out to be problem," he said.

But he was optimistic that his side would make the final, predicting that Kenya would be their opponents, that far. "We played a determined game, knowing that Kenya was not going to be easy, and it worked," he said.

Photo - Kenya U20 skipper Innocent Mutiso challenged by a Tanzanian player

get a blog

Get latest news, livescores and standings through your mobile phone on www.futaa.com/mobile or m.futaa.com