Bitter rivals Kidus Giorgis and Ethiopia Bunna have reached the 12th Addis Ababa City Cup final, which is slated for Sunday October 22 after winning their respective semifinal duel against Jimma Aba Jifar and Ethio-Electric. The annual preseason tournament attracted 6 Addis Ababa based clubs and 2 guest sides outside of the capital.
Record Addis Ababa City Cup champions Kidus Giorgis beat premier league newbies Jimma Aba Jifar 4-2 on penalty shootouts to reach the final on Wednesday. The regular time of the tie ended in a barren draw before The Horsemen marched on to the final. Veteran Kidus Giorgis player Adane Girma squandered a penalty 12 minutes before time ad the game was disrupted for 23 minutes following a transformer near the Addis Ababa Stadium exploded leaving the stadium in a total darkness. Jimma Aba Jifar duo Samson Kolecha and Elias Ataro missed their spot kicks while Kidus Giorgis players converted four of their penalty kicks. Jimma Aba Jifar’s midfielder Yonas Geremew was awarded with the ‘Man of the Match’ accolade.
Ethiopia Bunna cruised past Ethio-Electric 1-0 to set up a final date against city rivals Kidus Giorgis. Bunna dominated the proceedings from the onset while Electric were busy with their defensive approach and counter attacks. In the second interval Electric managed to play more offensive putting the Bunna backline on pressure. Asechalew Girma rattled the post in the 73rd minute before second half substitute Asrat Tunjo set up team captain Mesud Mohammed to strike the lone goal of the game in the 74th minute to send Bunna fans to frenzy. Midfielder Mesud was voted ‘Man of the Match’.
Arachrivals Ethiopia Bunna and Kidus Giorgis will battle it out to lift the City Cup in a much anticipated Sheger Derby tie whilst Jimma Aba Jifar and Ethio-Electric will face off in the third place playoff. The Addis Ababa City Cup is organized by the Addis Ababa Football Federation. Apart from being a preseason tourney for premier league clubs, the City Cup is used as a means of generating revenue for the Federation.
Sunday, October 22
2:00 –Ethio-Electric vs. Jimma Aba Jifar
4:00 – Kidus Giorgis vs. Ethiopia Bunna
