A Trying Match That Rewarded The Loyal Fans

Monday, 23rd August, national teams of   Eritrea and Kenya engaged in a very tough match of CECAFA cup under the age of 20. Eager fans filled the entire stadium with cheers and buzzing sounds. Kenyan national team was considered a tough opponent for it had beaten Somalia with 6-0 score. How did the Eritrea vs Kenya match conclude and which team won the match?

 

The Kenyan national team known as Harambee Stars have already surpassed Eritrea  with a difference of six goals which enabled the team to gain an upper hand, and was  also a five times champion in the CECAFA cup of varied age groups. This in fact triggered split opinions among the sport fans about who would win. Besides the aforementioned reasons, Kenya had already got off with flying colors, with a cumulative score of 11 goals in three games as compared with Eritrea’s score of 4 goals in three matches.

 

Although the two national teams have qualified for the semi finals with the results they scored in the

previous matches, they also showed very enthralling game employing their utmost capabilities to win the match and thereby rank as the leading teams of the Group A. Unlike the other matches with Tanzania, Sudan, and Somalia, the Eritrean national team known as the Red Sea Camels showed very splendid tactics. Irrespective of the many attempts, the first half of the game was concluded without any goal scored to either team.

The second half of the match was played under heavy rain. Despite the heavy rain the tempo never decreased but rather the two teams showed captivating movements that made the fans give a standing ovation to the match that was full of suspense.

Impressed by the good start on the part of the Red Sea Camels, the spectators gave due support till the end of the match. In the first half of the match the Red Sea Camels dominated the positions and Eritrea scored a decisive goal in around 15 minutes of the match by Meron Habtesilus. Notwithstanding the doubts, the Red Sea Camels won 1-0 putting an end to the split opinions of the spectators. Hence, Eritrea scoring 10 and Kenya scoring 7 points made through to the semi finals being first and second respectively from the group A.

Five minutes before the end of the match the Harambee Stars made notable attempts, however were challenged by the Red Sea Camels. The defense line of Eritrean national team remained unbreakable; and there was also good harmonization on the part of the strikers which compensated the ceaseless supportive cheer on of the fans.

The Red Sea Camels went on to play the Rwandan national team Amavubi (The wasps) on 25th August 2010, and swept the game 1-0.  Kenya square off the Ugandan national team ‘the Carnes’ yesterday. In that match Uganda win 2-0 against the Harambee Stars. Thus, the Red Sea camels would meet the Carnes in the final game on 28th may at 3:00 pm.

It is also to be recalled that Eritrea beat Tanzania with a result of 1-0 in the opening match of the CECAFA 2010, and won against Somalia with a result of 2-1.  The Red Sea camels also shared equal results of 1-1 in the match against Sudan. Likewise, the Kenyan national team defeated Tanzania 3-0, beaten Somalia 6-0, and shared the same result of 2-2 in the game against Sudan.

Following the end of the game, the Kenyan coach described the match between Eritrea and Kenya as a tough match and he said that Eritrea played well and he felt sad that Kenya lost the game.

Negash Teklit, Eritrea’s national team coach subsequent to the match against Rwanda said that Eritrea shall once again prove champion of CECAFA 2010 tournament as it did in the semi-final match against Rwanda and hence the Red Sea Camels are ready to face which ever team in the final match.