Eritrea beat Djibouti 3-0 in CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup

KAMPALA, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) — Eritrea improved its chances of qualifying for the semifinals at the ongoing Council for East and Central African Football Associations (CECAFA) Senior Challenge Cup after picking a 3-0 win over Djibouti on Friday.

Abreham Isayas gave Eritrea the 1-0 lead after 10 minutes with a well taken shot.

Djibouti tried to defend in numbers but the highly passing Eritrean side continued to dominate the Group A match.

In the second half, Ali Suleiman netted two more goals to send Eritrea to six points on the log and second behind Uganda who have already qualified for the semifinals.

“I am very happy that after losing to Uganda in our last game, my boys came all out today well motivated and played good football. Our target is to reach the final of this tournament,” said Eritrean coach Efrem Haile Alemseghed.

Djibouti coach Julien Mette said, “My players did not follow instructions well. We played against an experienced team.”

Eritrea will now face Somalia in their last group game on Sunday, while Djibouti battle Uganda. The defending champions Kenya and Uganda have already booked places in the semifinals.

The regional tournament that has attracted nine teams will end on December 19.