Disciplinary Issues Cost Ethiopia Once Again

Ethiopia lost their opening game of AFCON 2021 to Cape Verde. What happened on the pitch and what ultimately determined the outcome of the game was something similar to what we have seen before.

The year was 2013 and it was a historic day for Ethiopian football. The Waliyas were back to the biggest tournament in the continent after 31 years of absence. Everyone was in festive mood and the first opponents for The Waliyas were the reigning champions Zambia. However, the most memorable moment of the match didn’t involve a goal rather a red card.

Goalkeeper Jemal Tassew channeled his inner Manuel Neuer when he went on an adventure to clear the ball by leaving his line. But his acrobatic attempt fully landed on the striker and he ended up injuring himself in the process. While being stretched off the field he was shown a red card, one of those rare moments you see in football.

And before they knew it Ethiopia were down to 10 men and had a mountain to climb. Even though Sewnet Bishaw’s side did well to come away with a point they could’ve done better.

Nine years later Jemal is on the bench watching Ethiopia’s opening game against Cape Verde. He might have had a moment of Deja vu when Yared Bayeh recklessly brought down

Júlio Tavares near the edge of the box. The referee first awarded the Center Back a yellow card but after a consultation with VAR and seeing the footage again it was upgraded to a red card. Once again Ethiopia had it all to do.

Maybe things would’ve been a lot different with 11 men. Cape Verde, although not a side to be taken lightly , were there for the taking.
Ethiopia defended and were restricted to their own half for the majority of the first half. And just when a 0-0 going into half time looked like a good result Tavares’s header put the Blue Sharks ahead.

It was a better performance from The Waliyas in the second half. Webetu Abate made some tweaks to freshen up his tiring players up front. Game changers like Frew Solomon were introduced and Abubeker Nasser was moved to the number 9 position before eventually making way for Mujib Kassim.  Even though The Waliyas still didn’t manage to produce clear cut chances their hold of the ball meant that Cape Verde was kept at bay for most of the half. Ethiopia managed 7 shots in the game but only one of it was on target.

It once again boils down to discipline and defensive organization. This is something the Ethiopian side has been struggling with in the past. Ethiopia lost the ball in a dangerous area and failed to clear it before the red card was awarded and they also were not marking their opponents when the goal was scored.

The Waliyas will play hosts Cameroon on Thursday and it will be a huge task going against The indomitable lions who kicked off their campaign with a 2-1 win against Burkina Faso.

EthPL

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Round 1
1 Oct 2023 15:00
ADAMA
-
-
CBE
1 Oct 2023 18:00
SIDAMA
-
-
BUNNA
2 Oct 2023 15:00
SHASHE
-
-
DICHA
2 Oct 2023 18:00
HAMBERICHO
-
-
DIRE
3 Oct 2023 15:00
HAWASSA
-
-
FASIL
3 Oct 2023 18:00
HOSSANA
-
-
MECHAL
4 Oct 2023 15:00
KDG
-
-
WOLKITE
4 Oct 2023 18:00
MEDIN
-
-
BDR
Round 2
12 Oct 2023 15:00
DIRE
-
-
BUNNA
12 Oct 2023 18:00
CBE
-
-
HOSSANA
13 Oct 2023 15:00
HAMBERICHO
-
-
KDG
13 Oct 2023 18:00
FASIL
-
-
MEDIN
14 Oct 2023 15:00
WOLKITE
-
-
SIDAMA
14 Oct 2023 18:00
DICHA
-
-
ADAMA
15 Oct 2023 15:00
BDR
-
-
MECHAL
15 Oct 2023 18:00
SHASHE
-
-
HAWASSA
Round 3
19 Oct 2023 15:00
MEDIN
-
-
DICHA
19 Oct 2023 18:00
SIDAMA
-
-
FASIL
20 Oct 2023 15:00
HOSSANA
-
-
WOLKITE
20 Oct 2023 18:00
KDG
-
-
SHASHE
21 Oct 2023 15:00
MECHAL
-
-
CBE
21 Oct 2023 18:00
HAWASSA
-
-
DIRE
22 Oct 2023 15:00
ADAMA
-
-
HAMBERICHO
22 Oct 2023 18:00
BUNNA
-
-
BDR
Round 4
26 Oct 2023 15:00
SHASHE
-
-
SIDAMA
26 Oct 2023 18:00
DIRE
-
-
CBE
27 Oct 2023 15:00
HAWASSA
-
-
MEDIN
27 Oct 2023 18:00
WOLKITE
-
-
BDR
28 Oct 2023 15:00
HAMBERICHO
-
-
HOSSANA
28 Oct 2023 18:00
KDG
-
-
ADAMA
29 Oct 2023 15:00
FASIL
-
-
BUNNA
29 Oct 2023 18:00
DICHA
-
-
MECHAL
Round 5
2 Nov 2023 15:00
HOSSANA
-
-
SHASHE
2 Nov 2023 18:00
CBE
-
-
WOLKITE
3 Nov 2023 15:00
ADAMA
-
-
DIRE
3 Nov 2023 18:00
MECHAL
-
-
HAMBERICHO
4 Nov 2023 15:00
SIDAMA
-
-
HAWASSA
4 Nov 2023 18:00
MEDIN
-
-
KDG
5 Nov 2023 15:00
BDR
-
-
FASIL
5 Nov 2023 18:00
BUNNA
-
-
DICHA
Round 6
7 Dec 2023 15:00
DIRE
-
-
DICHA
7 Dec 2023 18:00
HAMBERICHO
-
-
FASIL
8 Dec 2023 15:00
MEDIN
-
-
MECHAL
8 Dec 2023 18:00
SHASHE
-
-
WOLKITE
9 Dec 2023 15:00
KDG
-
-
BDR
9 Dec 2023 18:00
SIDAMA
-
-
HOSSANA
10 Dec 2023 15:00
ADAMA
-
-
BUNNA
10 Dec 2023 18:00
HAWASSA
-
-
CBE
Round 7
14 Dec 2023 15:00
WOLKITE
-
-
HAMBERICHO
14 Dec 2023 18:00
FASIL
-
-
DICHA
15 Dec 2023 15:00
MECHAL
-
-
ADAMA
15 Dec 2023 18:00
BDR
-
-
HAWASSA
16 Dec 2023 15:00
BUNNA
-
-
KDG
16 Dec 2023 18:00
HOSSANA
-
-
MEDIN
17 Dec 2023 15:00
CBE
-
-
SHASHE
17 Dec 2023 18:00
SIDAMA
-
-
DIRE
Round 8
21 Dec 2023 15:00
HAWASSA
-
-
KDG
21 Dec 2023 18:00
WOLKITE
-
-
MECHAL
22 Dec 2023 15:00
FASIL
-
-
HOSSANA
22 Dec 2023 18:00
DIRE
-
-
BDR
23 Dec 2023 15:00
CBE
-
-
BUNNA
23 Dec 2023 18:00
HAMBERICHO
-
-
MEDIN
24 Dec 2023 15:00
DICHA
-
-
SIDAMA
24 Dec 2023 18:00
SHASHE
-
-
ADAMA
Round 9
4 Jan 2024 16:00
MEDIN
-
-
SIDAMA
4 Jan 2024 19:00
DICHA
-
-
WOLKITE
5 Jan 2024 16:00
SHASHE
-
-
BDR
5 Jan 2024 19:00
KDG
-
-
MECHAL
6 Jan 2024 16:00
DIRE
-
-
FASIL
6 Jan 2024 19:00
HAWASSA
-
-
BUNNA
7 Jan 2024 16:00
HAMBERICHO
-
-
CBE
7 Jan 2024 19:00
ADAMA
-
-
HOSSANA
Round 10
11 Jan 2024 16:00
BUNNA
-
-
SHASHE
11 Jan 2024 19:00
SIDAMA
-
-
ADAMA
12 Jan 2024 16:00
MECHAL
-
-
HAWASSA
12 Jan 2024 19:00
HOSSANA
-
-
KDG
13 Jan 2024 16:00
MEDIN
-
-
DIRE
13 Jan 2024 19:00
BDR
-
-
HAMBERICHO
14 Jan 2024 16:00
WOLKITE
-
-
FASIL
14 Jan 2024 19:00
CBE
-
-
DICHA
Round 11
18 Jan 2024 16:00
ADAMA
-
-
MEDIN
18 Jan 2024 19:00
HAMBERICHO
-
-
BUNNA
19 Jan 2024 16:00
KDG
-
-
SIDAMA
19 Jan 2024 19:00
FASIL
-
-
CBE
20 Jan 2024 16:00
DICHA
-
-
BDR
20 Jan 2024 19:00
SHASHE
-
-
MECHAL
21 Jan 2024 16:00
HAWASSA
-
-
HOSSANA
21 Jan 2024 19:00
DIRE
-
-
WOLKITE
Round 12
25 Jan 2024 16:00
MEDIN
-
-
SHASHE
25 Jan 2024 19:00
MECHAL
-
-
FASIL
26 Jan 2024 16:00
BDR
-
-
CBE
26 Jan 2024 19:00
ADAMA
-
-
HAWASSA
27 Jan 2024 16:00
KDG
-
-
DIRE
27 Jan 2024 19:00
SIDAMA
-
-
HAMBERICHO
28 Jan 2024 16:00
BUNNA
-
-
WOLKITE
28 Jan 2024 19:00
HOSSANA
-
-
DICHA
Round 13
1 Feb 2024 16:00
DICHA
-
-
HAMBERICHO
1 Feb 2024 19:00
CBE
-
-
KDG
2 Feb 2024 16:00
HOSSANA
-
-
DIRE
2 Feb 2024 19:00
BUNNA
-
-
MEDIN
3 Feb 2024 16:00
MECHAL
-
-
SIDAMA
3 Feb 2024 19:00
BDR
-
-
ADAMA
4 Feb 2024 16:00
WOLKITE
-
-
HAWASSA
4 Feb 2024 19:00
FASIL
-
-
SHASHE
Round 14
8 Feb 2024 16:00
SIDAMA
-
-
CBE
8 Feb 2024 19:00
MECHAL
-
-
BUNNA
9 Feb 2024 16:00
HOSSANA
-
-
BDR
9 Feb 2024 19:00
HAWASSA
-
-
HAMBERICHO
10 Feb 2024 16:00
ADAMA
-
-
FASIL
10 Feb 2024 19:00
SHASHE
-
-
DIRE
11 Feb 2024 16:00
KDG
-
-
DICHA
11 Feb 2024 19:00
MEDIN
-
-
WOLKITE
Round 15
15 Feb 2024 16:00
BUNNA
-
-
HOSSANA
15 Feb 2024 19:00
BDR
-
-
SIDAMA
16 Feb 2024 16:00
DICHA
-
-
HAWASSA
16 Feb 2024 19:00
WOLKITE
-
-
ADAMA
17 Feb 2024 16:00
DIRE
-
-
MECHAL
17 Feb 2024 19:00
CBE
-
-
MEDIN
18 Feb 2024 16:00
HAMBERICHO
-
-
SHASHE
18 Feb 2024 19:00
FASIL
-
-
KDG

Standing Table

#
Club
P
W
D
L
Pt
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
0
6
0
0
0
0
0
7
0
0
0
0
0
8
0
0
0
0
0
9
0
0
0
0
0
10
0
0
0
0
0
11
0
0
0
0
0
12
0
0
0
0
0
13
0
0
0
0
0
14
0
0
0
0
0
15
0
0
0
0
0
16
0
0
0
0
0

Top scorers chart

#
Player
Played
Goals
1
Adama Ketema
0
0
2
Ethiopia Nigd Bank
0
0
3
Ethiopia Nigd Bank
0
0
4
Ethiopia Nigd Bank
0
0
5
Adama Ketema
0
0
6
Ethiopia Nigd Bank
0
0
7
Adama Ketema
0
0
8
Ethiopia Nigd Bank
0
0
9
Adama Ketema
0
0
10
Ethiopia Nigd Bank
0
0

2023/24 Competitions

competition logo
CAF Champions League
competition logo
CAF Confederation Cup
competition logo
Ethiopian Premier League
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