Head coach of Ethiopia’s Defence Force Seyoum Kebede has blamed match referee Mohamed Ali Moussa of Niger Republic and his assistants for being partial as his team lost 2 – 0 to Enugu Rangers in the first leg preliminary stage of the 2018/2019 CAF Confederations Cup fixture at the Nnamdi Azikiwe stadium in Enugu on Wednesday.
Two second half penalty goals from Godwin Aguda put the Enugu based side on the front foot going into the second leg on Tuesday December 4 in Adis Ababa.
Reacting to the match Kebebe said his team played well defensively but failed in their offensive plan but insists that positives from the match will help them get their revenge in the return leg. “Technically we are good but in the match we were not perfect offensively, we have a huge advantage in the next 90 minutes back home and I think we can change the result in the return leg.”
Kedebe said his team is still on course to changing the fate that has always befell the team in the competition in time past. “As a club we have participated in the CAF confederations Cup three times and at all those times we have been eliminated in the first round but this time we want to change that history.”
Despite sharing his optimism about the team and their hopes of qualifying the coach has come out to lay blames on the referee for their woes in the game played in Enugu. “It was a home match and they should have most of the advantages but I must tell you I’m not happy with the referee because every single action was against us. We expect the referee to be fair in all his decisions, we know it’s not easy but sometimes you have to be honest and officiate according to the laid down rules by FIFA.”
Winners on aggregate will face either Morocco’s Hassania Agadir or Niger Republic’s AS GNN in the First round.
I think two nil is a good result and it is better than conceding. I want to commend the team for their efforts. We may have started poorly because we could have wrapped things up in the first half but the win is the ultimate.
