Ethiopia score five against Zanzibar in CECAFA Senior Women’s Championship
Ethiopia got off to a perfect start in the on-going CECAFA Senior Women’s Championship 2022 with a 5-0 thumping of Zanzibar on Thursday.
The first Group B match played at the FUFA Technical Centre in Njeru, Uganda saw Ethiopia come all out to dominate the match.
After only two minutes Aregash Kalsa Tadesse put Ethiopia in the lead after slotting the ball past Zanzibar’s goalkeeper Zuwena Yassin. But the Zanzibar team tried to reorganize themselves and defended better.
Ethiopia’s skipper Geinore Loza Abera also got her name on the score sheet after 27 minutes with a fine strike. The Ethiopian team made several attempts at the Zanzibar goal, but failed to get more goals before the first half ended 2-0.
After resumption Abera scored her second goal of the day after 55 minutes, before Daniel Kidist Zeleke also netted a brace to ensure Ethiopia comfortably collected maximum points.
“This has been a good start and I hope my players will go all out and employ the same attitude in the next match,” said Ethiopia’s head coach Firew Hailegebral Asera.
Zanzibar’s coach Ali Abdulmutik Haji said they lost to a good side. “We shall try to come back a better team against South Sudan on Saturday,” added the coach.
In the second Group B match Tanzania picked a 2-0 win against a South Sudan team that put up a spirited fight.
Amina Bilali scored the first goal after 38 minutes before Diana Lucas Msewa made it 2-0 three minutes into added time.
Although the team lost, South Sudan’s coach Shilene Margaret Booysen said she was happy that they played well. “We shall slowly keep improving as the tournament gets on,” added Booysen.
Oscar Rabson Mirambo, the Tanzania Coach praised his team for winning against a South Sudan side that defended in numbers. “I am happy with the performance of my team. We now have to prepare for the next match against Ethiopia,” added Mirambo.
Hosts Uganda will return to action on Friday with a Group A match against Djibouti, while Rwanda will also take on Burundi. The Burundi team stopped Djibouti 3-0 in their opening match on Wednesday, while Uganda defeated Rwanda 2-0.