- CECAFA U-23 Challenge Cup
- Group B: Ethiopia 3-3 Eritrea
Hosts Ethiopia and rivals Eritrea shared the spoils three-all in the opening match of the 2021 CECAFA U-23 Challenge Cup at the Bahir Dar International Stadium on Saturday.
This epic Group B clash christened as the Habesha derby witnessed all the goals scored by Ethiopia Bunna players.
On three occasions, Ethiopia went ahead but Eritrea leveled the matters courtesy of a hattrick from Ali Suleman.
Solomon William gave the hosts the lead on 12 minutes. Suleman equalized in the 38th minute.
Abubeker Nasser restored the lead for Ethiopia with a well-struck penalty in the 43rd minute.
Suleman made it 2-all on the stroke of halftime as the opening 45 minutes ended all square.
Nasser scored Ethiopia’s third goal towards the hour mark but the joy was short-lived with another penalty by Suleman to complete the hat-trick.
The match was officiated by Uganda’s FIFA Referee Ronald Madanda.
This was the first Habesha Derby in over 28 years ended in a 3-all draw.
Action continues in group B on Sunday with a clash between Uganda and guest country Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
This year, unlike the previous editions, all teams agreed to field U-23 sides with an exception of fielding three players above the age of 23.
Each of the nine participating countries had to pay $20,000 participation fees.
