Ethiopian Coach Hails Team Resolve After Vital Victory

 Ethiosports.com

     April 4,2003
Addis Ababa (Addis Tribune)- Ethiopia’s German coach Jochen Figge has hailed his team’s character after his side beat Liberia 1-0 in Addis Ababa to go to second in the table in Group 2 of the African Nations Cup qualifiers.

     Speaking after the match on Sunday, Figge was full of praise for his players for showing character after missing a penalty early in the second half. “Liberia is a very great team and they are ranked in the mid-80s,” he said. “It takes some doing to beat a team of their standard.”

After the match, some Ethiopian fans were critical about the team’s finishing and the magnitude of the win in general. But Figge pointed out that all that matters are the three points. “We dominated the game and had very good chances to win by a bigger margin," he said. “But I think we got what we wanted from the game - the three points.”

  The Ethiopian National team scrapes past its Liberia opponent

       The win moves Ethiopia up to second in the table behind Guinea, who beat Group leaders Niger 2-0 in Conakry. Figge pointed out that there still remains work to be done. “I told the boys the morning before the match any kind of win will be enough to move us up to second and they achieved that,” he said. “But I think there is still some way to go in the Group.”

 Liberia’s coach Kadala Kromah, on his part, said the result was not all that bad. "No coach will be happy with a defeat," he said. "But given our lack of preparation and attitude, I can say it was not all that bad."

     Kromah was in particularly full of praise for his goalkeeper Boye Pratt, who  he said was the best performer. "It was a tremendous show by Boye," he said. "He is a local lad and he has justified our selection."