Under-20 team draw with Sudan in Asmara

By Gilbert Wandera

Kenya and Sudan fought to a 2-2 draw in the fourth day of the Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (Cecafa) Under-20 tournament in Asmara, Eritrea on Tuesday night.

Under chilly conditions following heavy rain prior to the match on the Asmara Stadium astro-turf pitch, spectators were warmed by the frenetic pace exhibited by two sides that pundits have predicted would be among the serious title contenders.

Jacob Keli put the Kenyans ahead in the 33rd minute before Mohamed Abdel outwitted the Kenyan defence to beat goalkeeper Caleb Otieno Adola and score the equaliser for Sudan in the 43rd minute.

Raphael Muigai struck from a free-kick in the 85th minute for Kenya to regain the lead, but in added time, Nadir el-Tayeb gave Sudan a last-gasp equaliser.

Sudan lost 1-0 to hosts Eritrea in the tournament’s opening match on August 14 and they are in danger of failing to qualify as winner or runners-up from the five-team Group "A" for the semi-finals.

Kenya are left in a more comfortable position to qualify if they win their remaining matches.

Kenya and Sudan have become familiar foes and Tuesday night’s tie was unpredictable. The Kenyans had beaten Sudan 2-0 in Khartoum and 1-0 in Nairobi during their recent Africa 2011 Under-20 Championship qualifiers.

Kenya will be back on the pitch today to face Somalia whose result will determine whether they make it to the next stage.

Kenya Face Somalia

After playing Somalia, Kenya will be back on the pitch with a match against Tanzania on Saturday. They complete their preliminaries on Monday against hosts Eritrea.

In an earlier match played on Tuesday evening Somalia held Tanzania to a 1-1 tie.

Salum Abdul gave Tanzania the lead in the 37th minute before Qasim Sidoin equalised in the 55th minute.

The Tanzanians were on the attack throughout the first half with forward Abdalla Bunu receiving plenty of balls in the box but missed many chances.

On Monday, defending champions Uganda sounded their intention to retain the title with an emphatic 3-1 win over Rwanda in the first Group "B" match.

Dan Sserunkuma scored all the Ugandan goals although the first credited to him in the 16th minute appeared to be a clear own goal by a Rwanda defender. His second was in the 39th minute . Rwanda captain Emery Bayisenge scored with a spectacular free-kick from 45 metres in the 85th minute to make it 1-2. Uganda pounced on the counter with Sserunkuma completing his hat-trick in the third of four minutes of injury time.