The Uganda Rhinos have eliminated Ethiopia from the CECAFA U15 Boys tournament.
The Ethiopians lost 4-0 during their last group stage game played at the Njeru-based FUFA technical center on Friday.
Ethiopia started the tournament with a draw with South Sudan in their opening game.
They later gained momentum after defeating Djibouti with 8-0 and secured four points, putting them at the same level as South Sudan.
However earlier on in the day, South Sudan defeated Djibouti with 12-0 and Ethiopia was left with an uphill task of defeating the Rhinos, who had already bagged six points.
However, Ethiopia was unable to hold the Rhinos in either a draw or win, a situation, which favored South Sudan to proceed to the semifinals.
South Sudan emerged second in Group A, qualifying for the semifinals alongside the Rhinos.
Ethiopia’s head coach, Jalloh Musa says that the players missed three clear goal-scoring opportunities, but the Rhinos were able to utilize most of their chances in the game.
“When you fail to utilize the opportunities at your disposal, your opponent will arguably score and you end up losing the game,” he said.
The Rhinos head coach, Hamuza Lutalo says that all the teams have displayed competitive football and he hailed them for exhibiting the sporting spirit.
Lutalo further said that he is preparing his players to face off with the team, which will come out second during tomorrow’s group B final games. “Somalia, Ethiopia, and Djibouti exhibit a different style of play, which is hectic for the boys to penetrate, however, the remaining teams play the same football like us and I am sure we shall keep performing better,” he says.
