CECAFA Cup 2015: Djibouti 0-4 Sudan

Friday 27th November 2015
CECAFA Cup Group C
Bahir Dar Stadium, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Djibouti 0-4 Sudan

A hat-trick from Sudanese striker Athar El-Tahir consigned Djibouti to their third successive defeat in the CECAFA Cup group stages in Ethiopia. Faris Abdalla Mamoun also found the net in a what as a comfortable 4-0 victory for Sudan.

The win was enough to ensure Sudan made it through to the quarter-finals as the best third-placed team. They will face another showdown with Group C winners South Sudan – a derby clash that they drew 0-0 just last week in the group stages. You wait a couple for years for a post-independence derby to come along, and then you two within a week.

But matters of such lofty ambition are far from the minds of Djibouti’s football team. Having sunk to the bottom of the world rankings last month, they have spurned these three instant opportunities to escape at the first attempt. Three matches, three defeats, no goals scored, nine goals conceded, no ranking points. Djibouti will have to wait for some Africa Cup of Nations clashes with Liberia in the spring for their next escape attempt.

In truth, in this final match, just as in the previous two, Djibouti were out of their depth. Even in the small fry of the Central and East African region, Djibouti – a small nation by anyone’s standards – are up against it. But when that is expanded out to the whole continent, their hopes exponential fade further still.

El-Tahir struck his first goal after just 16 minutes, and once he had done so, this contest was as good as over. Ten minutes later, it was 2-0, and there was definitively no way back. Djibouti had held out longer in their other matches, but as soon as they were behind the match was gone.

Other Group C results:

South Sudan 2-0 Malawi

Final Group C Standings:

1.	South Sudan	3	4-0	7
2.	Malawi	3	5-3	6
3.	Sudan	3	5-2	4
4.	Djibouti	3	0-9	0