Lesotho goes down to Ethiopia in opening AFCON qualifier

Lesotho suffered a 2-1 defeat to Ethiopia in its opening 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier played this afternoon in Addis Ababa.

70,000 turned out at the Addis Ababa Stadium

Likuena were unable to hold on to Bokang Mothoana’s first half strike at a packed at Addis Ababa Stadium.

Lesotho took the lead in the 41st minute but Ethiopia dominated the second half and equalised in the 64th minute through Gatoch Panon.

The Walias continued to pile on the pressure and found the winner in the 78th minute through their captain Saladin Said. In the other game in Group J, Algeria beat the Seychelles 4-0 to take the early lead in the group. Lesotho’s next group game is against Algeria in Maseru in September.

Only the group winners are guaranteed a place in Gabon in 2017.