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by James Waindi
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Ten-man Benadir of Somalia shocked Burundi’s Vital’O 2-1 in an action-packed encounter at the East and Central Africa Club Championships in Dar es Salaam.
Evans Edward and Nune Abdi scored the two goals in the 60th and 92nd minute to give the debutants and underdogs a dream start at the regional event, while Vital’O found the back of the net through a Kabungulu Nimbubona goal in the 91st minute.
Benadir, who are representing Somalia for the first time after replacing El Eman as the power of the Horn of African country, dominated the match from the start, but suffered a blow when Zanzibar referee Waziri Sheha sent off their right fullback Yasin Ali in the 34th minute for a second book able offence.
With scores at 0-0 and one man down, Benadir featuring in the event for the first time, looked well-beaten, but contained the Burundi champions and the scores remained at 0-0 at half-time.
numerous chances
On resumption, Benadir came out strongly and missed numerous chances, before being rewarded in the one hour mark after their new signing from Dandora United, Evan Edward, tapped in the ball from close range after Hassan Ali did the spade work.
Former Mathare Youth custodian, Dick Otieno, standing between the posts for Benadir, pulled off two spectacular saves that kept the newcomers in the match, but his error in injury time allowed Vital’O to equalise through Nimbubona. Nune Abdi restored their lead a minute later to give the Somalis a historic victory.
Vital’O coach, Younde Kagabo, said his players were fatigued as they arrived in Dar es Salaam barely six hours before the match.
He said he would use his next match against three times champions Tusker FC tomorrow, to bounce back in the tournament. Tusker beat Tanzanian giants Simba 3-2 in the opening match and would need a win tomorrow to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Benadir coach Ali Mohamed said the win was a big boost to the team but noted that they would halt their celebrations and focus for their next fixture where they are expected to face the wounded Simba SC.
“We are targeting a semifinal attendance, so at the moment we want to hold our horses and we can celebrate after defeating Simba who are now our main focus,” said Mohamed.
Source: Standard, July 16, 2008