Makonnen Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 April, 2012 Monthly Review April 4, 2012 Ethio Premiere Ethiopian Coffee Sport Club v Saint George, Addis Ababa Stadium Bereket Addisu broke a drought of over five hundred minutes of play without scoring twenty minutes into the match, and his partners in crime in the Saint George attack, Lencho Skibba and Fitsum Kebede, each added one as well. The end of Addisu’s scoreless streak prompted some research into the statistical prowess of V’s front three: in all competitions, Addisu leads in both scoring and assists over his career, with 56 goals and 30 assists; Skibba has 53 and 15 while Kebede trails with 34 and 17. Ethiopian Coffee 0 – St. George 3 (Bereket Addisu 19, Lencho Skibba 33, Fitsum Kebede 40) MoM: Mulalem Regassa (8.8) Attendance: 5868. Referee: Ingida Teklearegay. April 7, 2012 Addis Cup Semifinal Ethiopian Banks Sports Club v Saint George, Bankoch Stadium In the semifinal of the Addis Cup, Saint George took on Banks SC, and while the home side fought valiantly through a scoreless first half, the red and gold were not to be denied with second half goals from Felix Sunzu and Fitsum Kebede. The game was costly for the champions, however: Behailu Assefa will miss a couple of weeks with a jammed toe while, much more importantly, Kebede tore a calf muscle sprinting for a ball with minutes to go and will miss up to four months. That means that V will be without one of their leading players through the home stretch of the season, the playoffs, and the remaining games in the Red & Arabian Sea States Cup. Banks SC 0 – St. George 2 (Felix Sunzu 54, Fitsum Kebede 57) MoM: Kebede (7.9) Attendance: 1184. Referee: Samson Gawo. April 11, 2012 Red & Arabian Sea States Cup, Semifinal Leg One Saint George v Al-Shabab, Addis Ababa Stadium Can the fairytale continue? With their historic victories over Zob-Ahan and Zamalek in the rear view mirror, V welcomed Saudi side Al-Shabab to Addis Ababa Stadium. The Arabian visitors featured two brilliant teenagers in defender Fouad Salim and attacking midfielder Majed Al-Subiani and Angolan veteran striker Flávio. Perhaps fortuitously for the hosts, both Salim and Al-Subiani would miss this game through injury, although Flávio would be more than a handful for Saint George’s defense. Emboldened by recent history, Saint George came out strong, and while Bereket Addisu’s cross took a fortunate bounce, Lencho Skibba’s volley was strong and true, and with only six minutes gone the home side took an early one goal lead. Flávio would architect the equalizer just after the half hour, beating two Saint George defenders to the endline before laying the ball back for a simple tap-in for Fahad Al-Yousif. The second half was tense, but uneventful, other than a single moment that will live forever in the memory of devoted fans of the red and gold. Ten minutes in, Peter Moyo was allowed to carry the ball unopposed from his left back position. A simple pass to Andrew Sinkala on the left wing drew two defenders and opened up space towards the middle of the field for Mulalem Regassa. Regassa quickly touched a vertical pass to Skibba who took two touches along the edge of the box. Atakilti Mengesha made a sprinting run down the middle and Skibba’s pass was inch-perfect, letting the teenage striker slide the ball inside the far post, sending the fans into a frenzy of high pitched cheers and ululations. Despite a couple good chances for Flávio in the final moments, Saint George was able to hold on and take a slim lead into the second leg, bound to be a more difficult affair in Al-Shabab’s home stadium. St. George 2 (Lencho Skibba 6, Atakilti Mengesha 57) – Al-Shabab 1 (Fahad Al-Yousif 32) MoM: Mulalem Regassa (7.9) Attendance: 6480. Referee: Samson Gawo. April 14, 2012 Red & Arabian Sea States Semifinal Leg Two Al-Shabab v Saint George, King Fahd International Stadium For the first time on their storied trip through the Red & Arabian Sea States Cup, Saint George has a lead going into the second leg. Would this surprising stroke of good fortune prove their undoing? Four minutes in, it certainly looked that way: George Mapfumo slid into Flávio in the box, leaving referee Samson Gawo an easy call for a penalty. Flávio sent it home cleanly, and if the scoreline remained unchanged, Al-Shabab would go through to the final due to their away goal. Twenty minutes later, the game turned on its head. Bereket Addisu got on a cross to power a strong header towards goal, but Mousa Al-Shemmari pushed it wide. The ball stayed in play and Mapfumo chased it down, turned neatly and chipped it back to the center of the box. Ibrahim Al-Qadi and Abdul Rahman Al-Dossari stared at each other, and in the moment of hesitation, Addisu dashed between the two defenders and slid the ball over the line. The Al-Shabab defenders were still yelling and gesticulating at each other when play resumed, and from that moment on the home side seemed to wilt in the Saudi sun. As such, it was no real surprise when Felix Sunzu scored on a breakaway and his second goal, taken with ten minutes left, was the proverbial icing on the cake. Saint George had done it again, and would now face another giant of the Middle East, Al-Ain from the United Arab Emirates in the final. Al-Shabab 1 (Flávio 5p) – St. George 3 (Bereket Addisu 25, Felix Sunzu 32 82) MoM: Sunzu (8.9) Attendance: 2594. Referee: Samson Gawo. April 17, 2012 Ethio Premiere Saint George v Muger Cement, Addis Ababa Stadium In their return to league play, Saint George was not particularly sharp against Muger Cement, but a goal in the opening minute from Lencho Skibba was enough to see them continue their winning ways. Three important notes from an otherwise unremarkable game: first, Bereket Addisu is in the form of his young career, and while he was unable to score, he constantly found his way through the Muger defense and into dangerous positions; second, Muger Cement are a decent side and deserve their spot in the top four of the league; finally, the injuries continue to mount for V, with national side captain Samson Mulugeta missing at least a month with an injury to his groin. St. George 1 (Lencho Skibba 1) – Muger Cement 0 MoM: Asrat Mohammed (7.2) Attendance: 4327. Referee: Zekarias Fega Girma. April 25, 2012 Ethio Premiere Saint George v Fincha’a Sugar, Addis Ababa Stadium Saint George was totally dominant against Fincha’a Sugar, but was unable to add to a first half brace from Atakilti Mengesha. St. George 2 (Atakilti Mengesha 26 31) – Fincha’a 0 MoM: Mengesha (8.8) Attendance: 4760. Referee: Ingida Teklearegay. April 28, 2012 Red & Arabian Sea States Cup, Final Saint George v Al-Ain, Wollega Stadium One way or the other, the storybook run would end today as Saint George welcomed Al-Ain to Ethiopia for the final game of the Red & Arabian Sea States Cup. Saint George were a bit undermanned at an unfortunate time: two of their best defenders (Peter Moyo and Samson Mulugeta) missing the game through injury, as would attacker Fitsum Kebede and deep midfielder Mulalem Regassa. The side from the UAE has no such concerns, and the number of players from outside the region spoke to their quality, led by Mexican nationals Rodolfo Del Real, Juan de Dios Ibarra, and Pierre Ibarra and Belarusian midfielder Anton Putsilo. From the opening whistle, Bereket Addisu was everywhere, his energy and pace disrupting the Al-Ain defense with every touch of the ball. Four minutes in, a brilliant goal was his reward: splitting Javier Malgueño and Ibrahim Ali Ali, Addisu burst inside the box and rifled a shot low and hard, inside de Dios Ibarra’s post. Five minutes in, and Saint George were in the lead! Just as quickly, however, the task of holding it became immensely harder when Rwandan defender Léandre Bizagwira, who has been fantastic in his first year in red and gold, was sent off with a red card for hacking down Afonso Alves from behind. Perhaps a yellow could have been given in such an important game, but there was little argument, and Saint George grimly set out to defend a slim lead with a man disadvantage. It was not to be: Alves would open the scoring for Al-Ain with a curling kick from thirty yards that was impossible to stop. With that, the floodgates would open, and the visitors would add three more goals in the next eight minutes, one from Senegalese striker André Senghor, one from Putsilo, and a second from Alves. Three of the four goals were from twenty-two yards or more, and Al-Ain’s ability to find the open man with their numerical advantage would continue to be the storyline of the game. Felix Sunzu had a chance to claw back into the match just before halftime, but he was unable to convert and while the scoreless second half could be seen as a bit of a moral victory, it did little to cheer the thousands of Saint George faithful who had come to see their side make history. In the end, a fantastic run in the competition came crashing down in a game the visitors deserved to win. Still, after the sting of the defeat fades, the entire nation can take pride in the campaign which may be seen historically as the season that Saint George put Ethiopian soccer on the international map for good. St. George 1 (Bereket Addisu 4) – Al-Ain 4 (Afonso Alves 24 29, André Senghor 27, Anton Putsilo 32) MoM: Alves (8.8) V’s Best: Addisu (8.3) Attendance: 20,119. Referee: Samson Gawo. OVERALL It’s just hard to be disappointed with a loss in the final of the Red & Arabian Sea States Cup: getting there was a huge accomplishment for the club, and their dominance in the league continued unabated. The schedule slows to a halt in May: league play concludes and the final of the Addis Cup against Fincha’a Sugar loom, but the league playoffs won’t occur until June, giving Saint George time to recover for the late season spate of injuries. 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Makonnen Posted August 5, 2012 Author Share Posted August 5, 2012 May 2, 2012 Addis Cup Final Saint George v Fincha’a Sugar, Addis Ababa Stadium Saint George are a perennial favorite for this competition held between the teams centered in and around the Ethiopian capital, and even with a somewhat depleted squad through injury, V were expected to make short work of Fincha’a Sugar. Still, with three of the starting defenders absent (Peter Moyo and Samson Mulugeta through injury; Léandre Bizagwira through suspension, along with Fitsum Kebede and Mulalem Regassa forced to the sidelines as they continue their respective recoveries, anything is possible. But not everything is particularly likely: despite Fincha’a starting the game well, it was only a matter of time before something happened for V: in this case, Lencho Skibba made a clever run behind their defense to latch onto a pass from Atakilti Mengesha before scoring the opening goal of the game. The next eighteen minutes saw three more goals for the red and gold: a header from Behailu Assefa that took a deflection off a Fincha’a defender, and goals from Mengesha and Meseret Desta that effectively ended the contest well before halftime. Three of the goals were through the direct efforts of Bereket Addisu who, despite not scoring himself, yet again showed how dangerous the player leading the attacking line can be. It marked the second time Saint George had lifted this trophy after a shock loss to Ethiopia Coffee in last year’s final. St. George 4 (Lencho Skibba 19, Wodemagne Fenta 23og, Atakilti Mengesha 27, Meseret Desta 36) – Fincha’a Sugar 0 MoM: Bereket Addisu (9.0) Attendance: 13,609. Referee: Teshager Vassalo. May 9, 2012 Ethio Premiere Saint George v Bahir Dar Kenema, Bahir Dar Stadium The most notable feature of this game is the presence of Jake Newton, a Guyanese international, in the Bahir Dar squad. It’s not much: Newton has a total of two caps for a team ranked just better than 150 in the world. But it is a player from outside the horn of Africa choosing to come to the league, a promising sight for the growth of the Ethiopian game. Saint George spend the day launching shots at Stefan Franey in Bahir Dar’s goal, but remain unable to find the back of the net, with credit also going to their captain Yaregal Getaneh who put in a stout defensive effort to ensure the scoreless draw. St. George 0 – Bahir Dar 0 MoM: Samuel Degefe (7.5) Attendance 1064. Referee: Zekarias Fega Girma. May 16, 2012 Ethio Premiere Saint George v Defence Sports Club, Addis Ababa Stadium The real question today is whether or not V can achieve perfection? The final game of the regular season finds Saint George with twenty-five wins and four ties from twenty-nine games, with an absolutely absurd defensive record of having allowed only two goals all year. That record seems safe throughout the first half, but a goal of their own seems elusive as well until, just past the hour mark, Meseret Desta touches the ball back from the wing to Samuel Degefe, who has moved up to support the attack. Degefe’s cross is well-struck, allowing Bereket Addisu to duck in front of Ababi Killo in the Defence goal. Twenty-six wins, two goals allowed, zero losses. A historic season for Tadesse Makonnen’s club. St. George 1 (Bereket Addisu 69) – Defence SC 0 MoM: Samuel Degefe (8.4) Attendance: 12,780. Referee: Umeta Ibrahim. May 17, 2012 With the regular season complete, the playoff schedule is settled: Saint George will take on Muger Cement in the first round, while Awassa and Bahir Dar will square off on the other side, with the winners meeting on June 22 at Dessie Stadium to crown a champion. In other end-of-season news, eighteen year old Efrem Abera, on loan for the season at EEPCO, won the Ethiopian National League Golden Boot, scoring twelve times in his twenty-nine appearances. May 29, 2012 Sacilese was victorious Casale by a score of 2-1, claiming the Ethio-Italian Friendship Cup, marking the first time Saint George did not participate in the finals of that competition. OVERALL The month went as expected. Which is quite a statement when you wrap up a perfect season. The only question is can Saint George put the right kind of cap on a stunning season: the Addis Cup is assumed, as is a victory over Muger Cement. But the championship game against either Awassa or Bahir Dar could prove challenging, and to dominate the league as they have this season without hoisting hardware at the end of the season would be a massive disappointment for Tadesse Makonnen and his charges. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makonnen Posted September 23, 2012 Author Share Posted September 23, 2012 June 2, 2012 Ten Saint George players were named to Ethiopia’s national team’s roster for their game against Sierra Leone. Samson Mulugeta probably had the best day, but the game ended in a 3-0 defeat for the red, green, and gold. June 6, 2012 Immigrant’s Cup, First Qualifying Round Saint George v Football Crewe of New Orleans, Addis Ababa Stadium With their remarkable success in the Red & Arabian Sea States Cup fresh on their minds, Saint George looked to make a name for themselves in other international competitions starting with today’s opening match in theImmigrant’s Cup. Their opponent would be the Football Crewe of New Orleans and, as Tadesse Makonnen looked at film and reviewed the opposition, he was filled with a growing sense of optimism. This was a game V could win. And then he looked at the schedule: Saint George’s game against FC NOLA coincided exactly with Ethiopia’s international matches against Sierra Leone (last week) and Togo (next week). When requests to reschedule fell on deaf ears, this meant that over half of Saint George’s starters—as well as most of their first-tier backups—would be unavailable for the game, either through international duty or injury. The remaining team was led by Saint George’s foreign players: Peter Moyo (Zimbabwe) and Léandre Bizagwira (Rwanda) on the back line, George Mapfumo (also Zimbabwe) and Andrew Sinkala in the buildup, and Felix Sunzu (both Zambia) up front. That made the task much harder, and when just six minutes into the game, Pierre Delorme (Reunion) committed a foul just outside the box and New Orleans’ José Barbosa sent the free kick spinning into the net from nineteen yards out, the challenge became even more difficult. The patchwork V side tried valiantly: Felix Sunzu sent a header off the bar at the quarter-hour mark and a stinging half-volley from Alula Germa forced a nifty save from FC NOLA’s Marc Bragg. But the absence of Behailu Assefa, Fitsum Kebede, Lencho Skibba, and Bereket Addisu—the top four attacking players for Saint George—proved too steep of an obstacle, and the visitors from the Crescent City left with the victory. St. George 0 – FC NOLA 1 (José Barbosa 7) MoM: Peter Moyo (7.3) Attendance: 3826. Referee: Steve Kay. June 9, 2012 Eleven players from Saint George participated in Ethiopia’s historic 2-1 win over the Ivory Coast (see the International thread for a full write-up), with both goals coming from Bereket Addisu. June 19, 2012 Ethio Premiere Championship Playoff Semifinal Muger Cement v Saint George, Sebeta City Stadium At last, the championship for the Ethio Premiere can be decided: today there are two semifinal matches, one between Bahir Dar and Awassa; the other here at Sebeta City Stadium with Saint George facing surprise contender Muger Cement. The general question for Saint George is whether they can craft the perfect ending to a perfect season. Today, the challenge is the offense overcoming the absence of both attacking playmakers, Lencho Skibba and Fitsum Kebede. Those two are the heart and soul of Saint George’s offense, but Muger Cement overachieved to place fourth, which leaves them well short of V’s class. Still, it was a tightly contested first half, with the best chance taken on a breakaway by Muger’s Dawit Desta that was barely turned away by Adugna Deyas. That was all Muger had on the day, and five minutes into the second half, an unbelievably skilled cross from Liban Elmi was met just shy of the post by Atakilti Mengesha. Just before he crashed into the side of the goal, he managed to nod the ball into the back of the net and the joy of the strike lasted longer than the moments he spent dazed on the pitch. Saint George would add two more: a poor clearance by Alemu Kirbit spun high and into the path of Andrew Sinkala for the second, and Bereket Addisu added the third with a strong shot from the edge of the box. Muger Cement 0 – St. George 3 (Atakilti Mengesha 50, Andrew Sinkala 77, Bereket Addisu 82) MoM: Sinkala (8.1) Attendance: 6506. Referee: Yohannes Kayira. Bahir Dar got a brace from Mitiku Edae and beat Awassa 4-2 in the other semifinal, setting up a championship game between Saint George and their emerging rivals. June 20, 2012 Goals from Oussama Darragi and Jawad Ouaddouch took ES Tunis over Al-Ahly in the finals of the All African Challenge. Al-Ahly, who won the competition in its first year, have finished the runner-up each of the last two. June 22, 2012 A rainy day in Kombolcha found Saint George and Bahir Dar taking the field in the rain to decide the champion of the Ethio Premiere for the 2011/12 season. The storyline was really about Saint George for both teams: the University team has no love for the defending champions, and the rivalry between their coach Girum Ayalew and V’s Tadesse Makonnen has turned nasty in the media occasionally. For Saint George, of course, a perfect season is on the line: thirty-one games, no losses, and only two goals against. Lencho Skibba would miss the final through injury, but Fitsum Kebede would be on Saint George’s bench. In a clear attempt to put his best players on the field, Makonnen will come out with Bereket Addisu and Felix Sunzu up top, supported by youngster Alula Germa. Bahir Dar has their own injury concerns, with Berhane Alemseged—tied for the league lead in goals—relegated to the sidelines. Their best players, however, have been on either side of midfield, where Haileyesus Sefa (starting today on the back line) and Derigi Gebrehanna will look to provide width and service to Mitiku Edae, who arrives at the final in fine form. Just after the half-hour mark, the unthinkable happens: a nice pass from Elias Gawo frees Gebrehanna just inside the box, and his side-footed shot found the inside of the far post beyond Adugna Deyas’ dive! The champions had given up their third goal on the league season, and found themselves trailing in the most important game of the year. The response would come three touches of the ball later: Bereket Addisu to Liban Elmi who squares it to Makonnen Mamo. A long ball over the top was chested down by Felix Sunzu, who then launched a shot from twenty yards out that easily beat Stefan Franey. Sunzu has had some difficulties finding his footing with Saint George, often left behind both Addisu and young Atakilti Mengesha in the pecking order up front. In the second half today, he was an irresistible force, adding another long shot from twenty-five yards, and then being setup by Addisu on the break for his hat trick. Addisu would finish the game in the dressing room, having been shown a second yellow with ten minutes left. Kebede, still walking with a clear limp, however, would celebrate on the field, having been brought on for Germa with under a minute remaining in a clearly symbolic act of appreciation by Makonnen. As the whistle blew, Kebede and his teammates embraced in a large, jubilant circle, having capped a brilliant season with an equally brilliant performance to seal their campaign. Ethio Premiere Championship Saint George v Bahir Dar Kenema, Dessie Stadium St. George 3 (Felix Sunzu 46 66 79) – Bahir Dar 1 (Derigi Gebrehanna 36) MoM: Sunzu (9.5) Attendance: 9521. Referee: Zekarias Fega Girma. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makonnen Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 If you happen to get this far, Tadesse Makonnen's career continues here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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