CHAN: Ethiopia peppered by Libya

Goals from Elmutasem Abushnaf and Abdel Salam Omar gave Libya a perfect start as they beat Ethiopia 2-0 in Bloemfontein in their African Nations Championship Group C encounter on Monday. Ethiopia made their Chan debut after an exciting showing in South Africa just a year ago at the Africa Nations Cup. Libya, meanwhile, returned to the competition for the second time since the inaugural 2009 tournament in Ivory Coast where they failed to make it out of the group stage. It was Libya who took an early lead when Elmutasem Abushnaf ran into the danger area before unleashing a thunderbolt past Jemal Bushra via the post from a tight angle. For the opening 25 minutes the young Libyan outfit continued to impress, carving out openings and showing the Ethiopian defence to be shaky at times. In the 27th minute Ethiopia did get into a good position when Demessie turned and volleyed from a tight angle inside the danger area, but his shot could not find the target. In the final ten minutes of the first stanza Ethiopia began to up the tempo and push for an equaliser, buoyed on by their passionate supporters who made a lot of noise inside the stadium.