Arthur Eminu Oryada
9 January 2009
Kigali — Kenya 's Harambee Stars and Burundi became the first teams to qualify for the semi-finals at the on-going GTV sponsored Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup.
Harambee Stars of Kenya, five time Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup champions finished top of the group after a 1-0 victory over Burundi in the last group game played at Nakivubo stadium.
Midfielder Osborne Monday converted a penalty in the 60th minute to give the Kenyans victory and opportunity to top the group.
"We started poorly with two draws and everyone wrote us off. But this is a determined team," said Kenya 's coach Francis Kimanzi who watched the game from the stands after he was sent-off in their game against Djibouti.
In the earlier game, guest side Zambia failed to make it to the last four after succumbing to a 2-0 loss at the hands of defending champions Sudan, who also bowed out of the event.
Sudan who finished in third position in Group B scored through Abdulhamid Amari in the 29th minute, before Ethahib Elmahi picked the second 14 minutes after the start of the second half.
"We were outplayed and did not deserve to win," Zambia's French born coach Hevre Renard told Times Sport. He was however happy that some of his young players had got a feel the Cecafa tournament.
"This tournament has helped many of my junior players to get exposed," he said.
The semi-finals will be played on Sunday, while the finals will take place on January 13 at Namboole stadium. The winner will pocket US$30,000, the runner-up US$20,000 and third placed US$10,000.
Group B
P W D L F A Pts
Kenya 4 2 2 0 6 1 8
Burundi 4 2 1 1 6 2 7
Sudan 4 1 2 1 4 3 5
Zambia 4 1 2 1 4 3 5
Djibouti 4 0 1 3 2 13 1
Results
Sudan 2 Zambia 0
Burundi 0 Kenya 1
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