Commercial Bank of Ethiopia to face Vihiga Queens in final

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia FC will battle Kenya’s Vihiga Queens in the final of the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s  Champions League/CECAFA qualifiers on Thursday at the Nyayo Stadium.

Coach heye Birhanu Gizaw’s side joined Vihiga Queens after struggling to stop Uganda’s Lady Doves FC 5-3 in penalty shoot-outs after the match ended 1-1 in 120 minutes played.

After only 8 minutes Commercial bank of Ethiopia’s skipper Geinore Loza netted from close range to take her tally to 13 in the tournament.

But the Lady Doves kept pushing forward and Fazila Ikwaput had two quick opportunities that were parried back by Commercial Bank of Ethiopia’s goalkeeper. The Ethiopian side who have netted more goals than any other team in the tournament continued to dominate play, but the Lady Doves defenders stood firm.

After 51 minutes Ikwaput got her name on the score sheet with a well taken free-kick. The Lady Doves pushed forward after scoring, but also failed to beat the well organized Commercial Bank of Ethiopia defenders.

The two teams continued to create several scoring opportunities, but to no avail as the match was played another 30 minutes after a 1-1 draw in the early 90 minutes.

In the Ethiopian side converted all their penalty kicks, while Uganda’s Sarah Nakuya missed. “This was a very tough semi final and we were aware the Ugandan would defend a lot. But am happy we are through to the final,” said coach of the Ethiopian side Gizaw.

Fred Musiime, the Lady Doves FC coach said his team failed to take their chances. “We were not lucky today,” added Musiime whose team will now face Simba Queens FC (Tanzania) in the play-off for 3^rd and 4^th place.