Thursday December 3, 2015
Uganda vs. Ethiopia – Addis Ababa Stadium @ 3.30pm
Uganda Cranes will attempt to reach the finals of the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup when they take on Ethiopia in the semi-finals of this year’s championship.
The Cranes last reached the finals of the regional tourney in 2012 and they went on to beat Kenya 2-1 at Namboole to lift the crown, their 13th in history.
However, they could only manage a quarter final finish the following year in Kenya and the with competition not held last year, the chance to get back where they belong is on Thursday.
The Mulitin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic side head into the game against the host nation full on confidence after trouncing Malawi 2-0 in the quarterfinals but must be wary of a side that has only lost once.
Besides, they are backed by home fans who Coach Yohannes Sahili hailed in the aftermath of win over Tanzania plus the character that has seen them score twice from behind in two games against Kilimanjaro Stars.
The Cranes maybe record champions and have improved every passing game but Sahili isn’t bothered.
“We don’t care who we play. We treat each game as it comes,” he told SuperSport in a post-match interview against Tanzania.
However, the Cranes are still favourites going into the game not only because of their show so far but their statistics against the Antelopes are also very impressive.
In the previous three meetings of which two came at CECAFA 2012, Uganda has come out on top scoring six times and conceded none.
The most recent meeting came in an international friendly at Namboole in November last year where goals from Geoffrey Massa, Yunus Sentamu and Farouk Miya sealed a comfortable 3-0 win.
The Ugandan side had among others Miya, Keziron Kizito and Richard Kasagga who are also part of the current side.
Miya who is skipper of the side will be the go to man having scored three goals so far. However, Ceaser Okhuti, Erisa Sekisambu and Joseph Ochaya who have also shone through the tourney will be key.
Ethiopia last played in the finals in 2005 and they beat Rwanda 1-0 in the finals in Kigali.
