Commentary: Eritrea U-20 Vs Rwanda U-20 Semi final

Commentary: Eritrea U-20 Vs Rwanda U-20 Semi final

By Alula Abraha

Eritrea was clearly the favourite to win the game but nothing can be guaranteed in football. The French coach of Rwanda will have to undo his counterpart, Negash Teklit, tactically. Negash Teklit is known for his versatile team tactic mostly attack-minded with solid back line with chances created from the middle rather than from the wing, conventionally.

The first half was so frustrating the Red Sea boys missed a bagful of chances while Rwanda didn't even have a sniff of the Eritrean goal let alone to cause a problem. Eritrea had four clear goal scoring chances, particularly the one best chance missed in the last minutes of the first half, when Meron Habtesulus had a clear one-on-one chance with only Vincent Navarro, the Rwandan goalkeeper to beat. Vincente, who was clearly the busiest player on the pitch blocked Meron's effort. The chance went begging and now 2 minutes of injury time was added for the first half. Now Meron picked himself up and had another bite on the cherry when he appeared to have been fouled in the penalty area but the referee thought Meron dived to win a penalty. Meron got more than he bargained for, instead of a penalty he hoped for he received a yellow card for 'diving'. Negash Teklit protested to the third referee on the decision as Eritrea pushed for a goal while the Rwandan coach urged the referee to blow his whistle for half-time. He can't be blamed as he couldn't wait for a moment of respite after his team got bombarded by Eritrea U20 from all angles, but without any result to show for it.

In the second half, Tesfalem Tekle, came off the bench to replace Kebrom Andemariam. Second half started nervously as the Rwanda approached the game negatively with more men behind the ball, perhaps to lure Eritrea to come forward more often and then hit them on the break.

Asmara stadium was jam-packed as some fans had to be urged to climb down from the mast of the floodlight as it was about to be switched 'ON'. The fans were more interested in their own strikers getting switched 'ON' too in the second half after a frustrating first half. Eritrea dominated the game in the midfield passing the ball very well and in movement. The fans are on the edge of their seats.

On the 75th minute, Negash Teklit made a second replacement with KuluBerhan coming on for Idris Ismael who had a good game, re-adjusting the Eritrean frontline into a three-tong attack. Bald move by Negash Teklit but it paid off only three minutes later when Kuluberhans goal-bound effort was cleared off the line by a Rwandan defender with his hand. The referee pointed to the spot-kick but the Rwandan defender got away with only a yellow card. It was scandalous as a clear & deliberate handball should have deserved a straight Red Card. I’m sure the memory of the recent world cup quarter final between Ghana & Uraguay must have crossed the minds of Eritrean players and fans alike when Asamoah Juen missed a last minute penalty that subsequently sent Ghana packing & Uraguay through to the semi-final of the South African World Cup. Luis Suarez was sent off for clearing the goal-bound ball off the goal line with his hand but the Rwandan defender got away with only a slap on the wrist. However, the captain, Abraham Tedros(Agu'a), didn’t disappoint the home fans when he composed himself to put the ball in the back of the net for a deserved 1-0 slender lead & his 4th goal in 5 games so far.

Rwanda changed their style & put men forward in search an elusive equalizer in the face of a tight Eritrean defence line. Four minutes later, against the run of play, Rwanda, technically, put the ball in the back of the net but the referee, rightly, ruled it out for a diabolical foul on Samuel Alazar, the Eritrean goalkeeper, who was hardly put to a test so far. But now he looks seriously injured with Eritrean medics rushing to attend to him. The game resumed.

The double substitutes, KuluBerhan & Meron Habteselus continued to cause havoc on Vincente Navaro's goal. In fact both of the subs could have scored two goals each in the second half.

Beniam Araya, a defender, came on for Isayas Tekle near the end of the normal time. Despite the fact that two of our solid back line, the two Yohanneses were suspended for this crucial semi-final as a result of receiving two yellow cards each in the previous game, they were replaced by equally solid defenders, particularly, the 17 year old Merhawi, who was the captain of the U-17 team who finished runner-up last year in Sudan. Merhawi & his collegues, at the back, have carried his team to the final and have now to focus on avoiding the disappointment he experienced in the final last year in Sudan. The Zanzibar referee added three minutes of Injury time. The referee blew the final whistle and Eritrea held on to a deserved victory. The Red Sea boys are through to the final of CECAFA U-20 for the first time on this famous night in the history of Eritrean football. The fans in the stadium erupted. They never stopped singing ever since the goal was scored & that has helped lift the players. The players run to each end of the stand to thank the fans for their support. It was really an emotional & festive night in Asmara, Eritrea.

Kenya will play Uganda in the other semi-final in Asmara tomorrow at 4 PM local time. The winner will play the Red Sea boys in the final on Saturday.

Forssa Red Sea Boys!! ........... FORSSA!!!!

Share this post