Ethiopia reclaim top spot in CECAFA Women’s U-20 Championship

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