ADVANTAGE ETHIOPIA AS KENYA SLUMPS TO DEFEAT
Kenya's hopes of reaching the African Nations Championship were dented by a 2-0 defeat to Ethiopia in the first leg of its preliminary qualifier. Goals from Aschalew Girma and Gatoch Panom gave Ethiopia the advantage ahead of the return meeting and delighted a huge crowd in Addis Ababa. To make matters worse for Kenya, Kevin Kimani saw a penalty saved in the closing stages - leaving Bobby Williamson's side with much work to do in the second leg. Ethiopia is 24 places above Kenya in the world rankings and claimed a deserved lead midway through the first half as Girma found the net. Panom, a scorer in his country's 2-1 victory over Lesotho last week, was given a chance to extend the lead with 14 minutes remaining when Biniam Assefa was brought down for a penalty. And the youngster made no mistake, converting from 12 yards to put Ethiopia in control. Kenya responded swiftly by winning a spot-kick of its own, but Tariku Getnet denied Kimani to ensure Ethiopia rema