Ethiopia’s start player Birkea Amare has said winning the Best Player’s Award at the just concluded CECAFA Women’s U-20 Championship will be a a big motivating factor in her football career.

Amare helped Ethiopia come from two goals down and a player-less in the last match against hosts Uganda to win 3-2 on Tuesday at the FUFA Technical Centre in Njeru.

Amare was voted the Best Player of the tournament that attracted six teams. “This Award is a big step for me in football and it will keep me working hard to be able to achieve a lot,” added Amare.

Firew Hailegebral, Ethiopia’s head coach praised Amare for the good team work during the tournament. “She was exceptional and motivated her team members on the picth to be able to get good results,” added the coach.

Uganda’s skipper Fauzia Najjemba who finished the tournament with 11 goals scooped the Top Scorer’s Award, while Daphine Nyayenga (Uganda) also picked the best Best goalkeeper’s Award. The hosts Uganda picked the Fair Play Award.

Yusuf Mossi, the Competitions Director of the Council of East and Central African Football Associations (CECAFA) said it was always good to recognize best performing players in a tournament because it motivates them.

“We are happy with the level of competition in this competition and hope that next time we shall have all the 12 CECAFA members send teams,” added Mossi.

Ethiopia have defeated Burundi 1-0 to reclaim to spot at the on-going regional CECAFA Women’s U-20 Championship.

Ariet Odong netted the long goal after 58 minutes to ensure Ethiopia picked maximum points against Burundi in the first match played today at the FUFA Technical centre in the Eastern town of Njeru in Uganda.

After a goalless first half where the two teams created some decent scoring opportunities, Ethiopia returned more determined to find the goals.

It was Ethiopia’s captain Naredos Getenet who provided a good cross from the right flank that Odong made no mistake shooting past the Burundi’s goalkeeper Ariella Umurerwa to make it 1-0.

The Ethiopian team continued to dominate play with their highly passing approach, but Burundi defended well. Pascasie Butoyi, Burundi’s leading scorer at the tournament also had a chance to level matters, but shot off target.

“This was a very tough match. But I am happy that my team has now won four games and our last match against Uganda will decide,” says Ethiopia’s assistant Jemberu Bizuayehu.

Burundi’s assistant coach Patrick Nshimirimana said they failed to control the game well and missed some good chances in-front of goal.

The win sends Ethiopia top of the table with 12 points. The second game will see Eritrea face Djibouti, while second placed Uganda battle arch-rivals Tanzania in the third match.

Table standing

                    P    W    D     L     GF    GA    GD   Pts

Ethiopia      4     4     0      0      15       1      14    12

Uganda       3     3     0      0      20       1      19      9

Tanzania     3     2     0      1       5        4       1      6

Burundi      4     1      0      3      9        9       0       3

Eritrea        3      0     0      3      0        8       -8      0

Djibouti      3     0     0       3      0      26     -26      0

Hosts Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania registered their second straight wins in matches played on Monday at the on-going CECAFA Women’s U-20 Championship in Njeru.

Uganda humbled Djibouti 13-0, while Ethiopia also picked a 5-0 victory against Eritrea, before Tanzania battled to stop a hard fighting Burundi team 3-2.

Skipper Fauzia Najjemba netted six goals for the Ugandan team, while Hadijah Nandago scored a brace. The other goals for Uganda were scored by Shakira Nyinagahirwa, Asia Nakibuuka, Zaituni Namaganda, Catherine Nagadya and a penalty converted by Shamirah Nalugya.

“I am happy that my players have doubled their efforts and played better than how they played in the opening match against Burundi. We shall keep focused and work hard in the remaining three matches,” says Uganda’s coach Ayub Khalifa Kiyingi.

In the second game Ethiopia took a 1-0 half time lead through a Ridet Assrasanang penalty conversion.

After recess, the Eritrean team tried to play a highly defensive approach, but made several mistakes at the back and got punished. Turist Lema made it 2-0 after 58 minutes, before Mesay Temsegen also got her name on the score sheet. Assrasanang scored her second goal of the day after 80 minutes, and Bizuayehu Tadesse made it 5-0.

The last action packed game of the day saw Tanzania coming from behind to beat Burundi 3-2. Gakima Estella and Annociete Nshimiramana scored for Burundi, while Haruna Mwanmvua converted a penalty for Tanzania, while Clara Luvanga and Emeliana Mbimu also scored to make it two wins for Tanzania.

But Tanzania’s head coach Bakari Shime says although they are struggling to win comfortably, he trusts hi team has what it takes to win the trophy. “We are getting to the crucial stages and we need to be at our best,” added Shime.

Uganda now lead the table after two games with six points and with a better goal difference than Ethiopia and Tanzania who also have six points.

The Championship being played on a round robin format will climax on November 9th.

Table standing

                  P    W    D   L   GF    GA    GD   Pts

Uganda    2     2    0    0     18       1      17      6

Ethiopia   2     2    0    0     12       0      12      6

Tanzania  2     2    0    0     4        2       2       6

Burundi    2     0    0    2     3       8      -5        0

Eritrea      2     0    0    2     0       6       -6       0

Djibouti    2     0    0    2     0      20    -20     0

The CECAFA Women’s U-20 Championship returns today with three matches on card at the FUFA technical centre.

Uganda V Djibouti

After their opening 5-1 win against Burundi on Saturday, Uganda’s coach Ayub Khalifa Kiyingi has vowed that they must improve a play better in game 2. “We are determined to put-up a better show to try and register another win because this is a tournament played on a League format,” said Kiyingi.

Captain Fauzia Najjemba who netted a brace in the opening match against Burundi will be hoping to increase her tally, while the likes of Souban Ahmed Omar and Kerman Abdou Sikieh will be all out to try and get their first goals for Djibouti in the tournament. Marwa Baher Moussa who was sent-off in the first match for Djibouti will miss the match.

Djibouti’s head coach Abdoularahim Mohamed Ali said although they started poorly in the opening match, they are determined to improve. “This is a team without a lot of experience and they are here to learn and improve,” added the Djibouti coach.

Ethiopia v Eritrea

This match promises to be a thriller. Ethiopia who lead the log after their convincing 7-0 victory against Djibouti in the opening match will be out to prove that their display on the opening day was no fluke. But the Eritrean team that conceded a late goal against Tanzania to suffer a 1-0 loss will also be all out to show that they indeed went back to the drawing board and learnt some lessons too.

“We need to create more chances and also score the goals. In football a team must score goals inorder to win and I expect my team to push forward today to try and get a better result,” says Eritrea’s coach Jemal Ibrahim Suleman.

Firew Hailegebral, the Ethiopian coach says his team will continue with the same approach pushing forward and defending well. Rider Assrasanang who netted a hat-trick and Turist Lema who scored a brace in the opening match will be the key Ethiopian players to watch out for, while Eritrea’s Delina Sahle Tekie

Burundi v Tanzania

The Tanzanian coach Bakari Shime has made it clear that his players must play better football in their second match. “We did not play so well in the opening match when we beat Eritrea 1-0. But the players know what we expect of them and they must push forward and be sharp at goal,” added Shime who won the COSAFA Women’s Championship with Tanzania’s Senior team last month in South Africa.

Burundi’s coach Daniella Niyibimenya also made it clear that after losing the first match, they must come all out and try to collect maximum points from their second match. “We know Tanzania is a a strong team, but we simply need to stick to our game plan,” added Niyibimenya.

Table standing

                 P    W    D   L   GF    GA    GD   Pts

Ethiopia   1     1    0    0     7       0       7       3

Uganda    1     1    0    0     5       1       4        3

Tanzania  1     1    0    0     1       0       1       3

Eritrea      1     0    0    1     0       1      -1      0

Burundi    1     0    0    1     1       5      -4      0

Djibouti    1     0    0    1     0       7      -7       0