Fasil Kenema lifts Ethiopian knock out trophy to qualify for continental big meet

ADDIS ABABA –Fasil Kenema lifted the prestigious Ethiopian knock out tournament beating Hawassa Kenema 3-1 in penalty shootouts at Bishoftu Arena on Sunday.

Fasil reached the finals beating the league champions Mekele Saba Inderta in the semi-final on forfeiture. Mekele’s forfeiture looks like a deliberate act. Reason: Mekele are now the Ethiopian Premier League champions. With that win they will compete in the next year CAF Champions League in which they will meet the Equatorial Guinea side in their first leg. That will be the first time for Mekele to take part in this big continental competition.

As per the regulation of the African governing body, the African Football Confederation, Commonly known as CAF, one team is not allowed to compete both in the Champions league and CAF Confederation Cup. It seems, Mekele decided to ignore the semi-final match against Fasil Kenema with the knowledge of this solid fact. Surely they (Mekele) will face money fine for giving forfeiture.

Hawassa Kenema scored first to lead 1-0 but Fasil recovered parity to go for penalty shootouts with a 1-1 result. At the end Fasil emerged victorious with 3-1 penalty shootouts.

This victory of Fasil was seen as reward for their loss at the Ethiopian Premier League final day match. In the closing day of the league competition Fasil Kenema and Mekele had equal 56 points from 29 games. A win against Shire Sihul would have given them title because of the advantages of the goal difference. But they finished a 1-1 tie against Shire Sihul while Mekele Saba Inderta had a 2-1 win over Dire Dawa Kenema to take title with 2 points advantage.

Considering this, many saw the victory of Fasil as compensation to that heart breaking defeat. At the end of the match Fasil Kenema’s

 coach Wubetu Abate said that it was the day for them. “You know Hawassa were in a 1-0 lead, in most cases reversing from one goal down is difficult in the final but we managed. When we reached in to the penalty shootouts stage I was sure that the day was with us. As I expected we won. We got the chance to take part in the continental competition,” he said.

For Wubetu this was the first time to win title in Ethiopian knock out tournament. In his previous big achievement he won the premier league title with the Addis side Coffee. To the surprise of many, he departed from Coffee the next season. Both Coffee and Coach Wubetu didn’t lift the league title in the wake of that big victory.

Wubetu added in his post victory interview. “We were in good form from the start for both competitions. We lost the champions league at the end while we won the knock out cup. It is 50-50. But for us it is good for my boys to get the chance of participating in the international competition. We deserve that one. The club and the entire Fasil Kenema fans deserve getting that,” he remarked.

The Ethiopian knockout holders Fasil Kenema will meet now the Tanzanian side in their first leg. The draw was set last week Thursday at the CAF headquarters in the capital of Egypt, Cairo.

Gebre Medhin Haile, the coach of Mekele Saba Inderta, is different from Wubetu in one way. For Gebre Medhin this is the second time in a row to take premier league title with two different sides. Many expected that Gebre Medhin would guide Jimma Abajifar in the CAF Champiopns league next season but he left the side the next season and joined Mekele with amazing speed.

After winning title with Mekele he had shown interest to become the national team head coach. In one sense this aspiration looks justified. The current national team coach Abrham Mebratu failed two times in the qualifiers after becoming in charge of the national team.

It is natural for a victorious coach to look for that big national post. But knowledgeable people insist that it is good for Gebre Medhin to guide Mekele in the CAF Champions League.

Gebre Medhin Haile was ace striker for Saint George and the national team in the 80s. He scored the equalizer for the national team in the 15th East and Central African Championship, widely known as CECAFA Cup, in 1987.

Zimbabwe who were in a 1-0 lead until the injury time in the final against the host nation Ethiopia but Gebre Medhin’s dying minute goal reversed that episode. Both sides entered in to extra time as a result of Gebre Medhin’s decisive equalizer. In the end the national side lifted the trophy beating them in penalty shootouts.

Wubetu is determined to do something substantial in the CAF confederation Cup. We will fight to the finish in continental big meet. “We will start preparation for that event very shortly,” he said.

This season brought two fresh faces in the country’s football history. Both Fasil Kenema and Mekele lifted titles for the first time.

The Ethiopian Herald July 23/2019

 BY SOLOMON BEKELE

Recommended For You

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *