Hay Al Wadi, Al Hilal qualify for knock out stage of CECAFA Dar Port Kagame Cup

Sudan Premier League sides, Hay Al Wadi and Al Hilal FC have qualified for the knock out stage at the   on-going CECAFA Dar Port Kagame Cup 2004 in Tanzania.

APR FC from Rwanda were the first team to qualify for the semi-finals earlier today after picking a 1-1 draw against SC Villa (Uganda) to top Group C.

In Group A Hay Al Wadi picked a 1-1 draw against Coastal Union FC in a match played at the Azam Complex, Chamazi. Mohamed Hassan gave the Sudan team the lead immediately after the break, and Abdallah Dennis made it 1-1 for the Tanzania Premier League side five minutes later.

The win sent Hay Al Wadi to 7 points, while Coastal Union finished second with 4 points. Muhsin Sayed Osman Elamin, the Hay Al Wadi coach said he was proud of his players for making it to the semi-final after winning two matches and drawing once. “We have worked hard to get here and we need to keep focused in the knock out stage,” added Elamin.

Somalia’s Dekedaha FC picked their first win in the tournament seeing off Zanzibar Premier League champions JKU SC 2-1.

JKU SC took an early lead through Ahmed Hamis Machano after 4 minutes, but the Somalia Premier League side had other ideas in the second half as they attacked in numbers and scored two goals. Joshua Addalie and Adepoju Oluwasen scored for Dekedaha FC to help them exit the tournament with one win. JKU SC’s Machano was later sent-off for a bad foul rul

The last Group C matches will be played on Tuesday with ASAS Djibouti Telecom facing guest side Red Arrows FC from Zambia, while table leaders Al Hilal (Sudan) who have already qualified after picking 6 points will play against Gor Mahia FC (Kenya).

Uganda’s SC Villa who have 5 points will be hoping that Red Arrows suffer defeat or pick a draw if they are to qualify for the knock out stage as the best runner-up.

The top teams in each group automatically qualify for the semifinals, while the second best team in any of the groups takes the last slot in the knock out stage.

The regional tournament is sponsored by the Sudan Football Association (SFA), Dar Port through the Tanzania Ports Authority, Azam TV and the Rwanda President Paul Kagame. The champions will pocket US$30,000, the runner-up US$20,000, and the third placed US$10,000.