ZONAL AFCON U-17 QUALIFIERS: Ethiopia beat 10-man Djibouti to win bronze

Ethiopia have defeated a 10-man to finish third at the regional CECAFA U-17 Challenge Cup in Rubavu, Rwanda.

The Ethiopian team that lost 4-3 in penalties to Tanzania at the semi-final stage came out charged to beat Djibouti 5-2 to win bronze.

Yodahe Bakalo netted a brace after 30 minutes before Jiru Bereket added the third to give the Ethiopian team a 3-0 lead at half time.

The Djibouti team tried to fight back with Ayoub Mohamed Hadi pulling one back after 56 minutes from close range. But Rameto Bereket added two more goals for Ethiopia before Ayoub Mohamed also scored the second goal for Djibouti.

Djibouti’s skipper Ayanleh Kaireh was sent off after 77 minutes for a bad foul on an Ethiopian player.
Djibouti’s coach Mohamed Ali Affasseh said he was not happy with the performance of his players in the play-off game. “We shall go back to the drawing board and keep building out youth,” added the coach.

Endrias Berhanu Woldamanuel, the Ethiopian coach said that he was happy that the team went all out for goals. “We shall keep working hard to build our young players,” added the coach.

Uganda Cubs who are yet to suffer defeat in the tournament will later face Tanzania in the final later today. The two teams have already qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) U-17 to take place in Morocco next year in March.