Eritrean goalkeeper’s effort not good enough

By Robin Toskin

Eritrea goalkeeper Yosief Zeratsion put up a man of the match performance but could not prevent the Red Sea Boys going down 2-1 to Rwanda’s Amavubi (Wasps) sting.

On the stroke of fulltime, Yosief saved with his legs Abdoukadir Gashuki’s half volley but the damage had already been done.

Four times in the first half, the young goalkeeper, one of Eritrea’s graduates of U17 team that played in the 2007 Africa Nations Championship in Togo, made daring saves.

But Yosief showed he is only human after a quarter an hour when Yusuf Ndayishimiye exploited his poor position to lob in a header.

Rwanda’s winning goal came on the half hour when Ermias Wolday diverted into his own net Amin Muetrwa’s cross.

Eritrea worked their socks off though and pulled back a goal when substitute Tesfalidet Goitom bundled in from close range to set up a tense finish in the Group B Orange Cecafa Challenge Cup match at Nyayo Stadium.

Rwanda’s win gives the Central Africans a firm grip of the group with six points from two matches, a result that assures them passage to the quarterfinals.

Eritrea, who held Zimbabwe to a barren draw on the first group match, must beat Somalia to ensure they progress to the quarters.

It is an assignment they should pass with flying colours if the performance against Zimbabwe and Rwanda so far is anything to go by. Isaias Andeberhian showed skill when he shaved Rwanda’s crossbar with a dipping shot from outside the box.

Rwanda, however, proved superior as midfielder and captain Mafisango Mutesa engineered the downfall of the Red Sea Boys when he sent Harun Niyonzima on the right flank.

The ensuing cross found Ndayishimiye to lob Yosief.

In the second match, Zimbabwe beat Somalia 2-0 in a game overshadowed by an explosion in Mogadishu that killed 16 people including three Government ministers and nine students.

A minute of silence was observed before the kick-off of this Group B match at Nyayo Stadium.

Somalia’s Ocean Boys, however, displayed immense strength of mind to give Zimbabwe a run of their money far from the margin of results suggests.

Somalia coach, Fara Abdi, paid tribute to his gallant charges.

"Those who died in the blast could easily be related to some of these players. They are Somali also and I think they showed a high degree of strength of mind to play this match," Fara said.

Despite Tapiwa Mangezi and Guthrie Zhokinyi getting the goals for the Warriors of Zimbabwe that should bring joy to them, coach Norman Mapeza said: "We are with the Somali people in these trying times. I wish they could get peace for there is no joy in winning such matches when people are dying elsewhere."