Saint George run riot
Ethiopian torchbearers, Saint George, managed to beat Seychelles champions, Cote D’Or, 3-0 in their Preliminary Round second leg clash at Hawassa, south of the capital Addis Ababa.
The game played on Sunday was halted due to adverse weather condition following heavy rains leading to a waterlogged pitch, which saw the remaining 35 minutes played on Monday morning.
The visiting Praslin-based club started off on a bright note with possessiveness of the ball in the opening minutes. Nonetheless, it was Saint George who took the initiative and had the first attack.
Their resilience upfront rewarded them in the ninth minute when Salahdin Said struck the opener. Veteran striker Adane Girma set up Said with a superb back heel to score the first goal.
The homers waited till the half hour mark to double their lead through Aschalew Tamene’s towering header. Three minutes later, Cote D’Or custodian Neddy Lesperance pulled off a great save from Beahilu Assefa’s curing effort.
In the 34th minute, a foul on Abubakher Sani inside the vital area led to a penalty which Girma successfully converted for Saint George’s third.
After resumption, the ‘Horsemen’s total domination continued as the visitors struggled. In the 49th minute, defender Salahdin Bargicho missed a sitter from three meters. Said was unable to connect a free header that could have seen him complete a brace in the 72nd minute. The visitors’ best chance came 10 minutes from time but Jean Jose Tigana shot wide.
Saint George will face AC Leopards of Congo at the 1/16th round.
Reactions
Mart Nooij (Head Coach, Saint George)
The duel had three parts as we led 3-0 in very harsh conditions. The result speaks for itself that we had a good game. Our next opponent is Leopards, a very tough opponent. But even in tough games we have had chances to progress in the past. Our aim is to see out the next game with extra caution.
Ralph Jean Louis (Head Coach, Cote D’Or)
It was a fair game. Saint George deserved to win. They were the better side. If it was not for the rain, I think we could have seen a better football. It is our second outing and we hope we grasped some experience for the future. For us it is a big learning experience. We had worked on a good pattern to counter attack them but the adverse conditions totally hindered us from implementing our tactics.