CECAFA
Ethiopia hope to bounce back against Uganda Crested Cranes in Addis Ababa
Hosts Ethiopia will hope to bounce back against Uganda when the two sides face-off on Tuesday, October 26th in the return leg of first round in the 2022 TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) qualifiers.
Uganda Crested Cranes beat the Ethiopian team 2-0 in the first leg played in Kampala few days ago. But the return leg on Tuesday at the Bikila Stadium in Addis Ababa promises to be a thriller.
But Ethiopia’s experienced captain Loza Abera Geinore has said they have what it takes to put up a better performance and win the match. “We know Uganda is a strong team, but we need to play as a team and be cautious to be able to get the result we want to qualify for the next stage,” added Geinore.
The attacking midfielder who was also the top scorer at the zonal CECAFA Women’s Champions League held in Kenya over a month ago said scoring early goals will be very important to motivate the team. “We need early goals and also play with better defending than we did in the first leg,” added Geinore.
But the Crested Cranes head coach George Lutalo has warned that they need to be very cautious against an Ethiopian team that holds the ball a lot. “We need to take our chances and also defend well,” added Lutalo.
The winner between Ethiopia and Uganda over the two legs will face Kenya in the second round. The Harambee Starlets ejected South Sudan 15-1 on aggregate.
In the other match Burundi will host Eritrea in the second leg at the Urukundo Stadium in Ngozi. Burundi won the first leg 5-0. Sudan who lost the first leg 14-0 to Algeria will also battle in the second leg on Tuesday.
Last weekend Tanzania’s Twiga Stars were eliminated by Namibia, while Djibouti earned a walk-over to the second round after Rwanda withdrew their team.