Ethiopia Football: Dedebit & St. George climb to the top, Ethiopian Coffee drops points
Addis Ababa – Defending champion St. George and last year’s runner-up Dedebit FC climbed to the top of the Ethiopian Premier League with victories over Trans Ethiopia (5-0) and Mugher Cement (2-0) respectively here today, reported Ermias Amare.
Dedebit FC and S. George now have 46 points from 24 matches, but the former has a better goal difference (+27 compared to +18).
Last week’s leader Ethiopian Coffee dropped two valuable points in Fincha, where they were held to a scoreless tie. Coffee now seats in third place with 45 points.
Meanwhile, Sidama Coffee, the surprising side of the current season, beat Adama City 2-0 in Adama.
The league will continue tomorrow with four more matches taking place in Addis Ababa, Sebeta and Hawassa.
St. George vs Trans Ethiopia
In the first match of the Addis Ababa double header, St. George defeated Trans Ethiopia 5-0 with goals coming from Adane Girma (2), Mesfin Kidane, Anthony Bogoli and Andualem Negussie.
Adane Girma now shares the top scorers’ list with Getaneh Kebede of Dedebit FC with 15 goals each.
Dedebit FC vs Mugher Cement
Following a scoreless first-half, Dedebit scored two goals through Temesgen Tekle and Behailu Assefa.
Should Defence Force win in Hawassa tomorrow, the league will have a three way tie.
Week 24 Results:
Wednesday May 18
• Fincha Sugar – ETH Coffee (Fincha) 0-0
• Adama – Sidama Coffee (Adama) 0-2
• St George – Trans (Addis Ababa) 5-0
• Dedebit – Mugher (Addis Ababa) 2-0
Thursday May 19
• Awassa – Defense (Awassa) 9:00
• Sebeta – DireDawa (Sebeta) 9:00
• EEPCO – CBE (Addis Ababa) 10:00
• Nyala – Harar Beer (Addis Ababa) 12:00
| Rank | Teams | Played | Wins | Draw | Lost | Diff | GD | Points |
| 1 | Dedebit FC | 24 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 49 – 22 | +27 | 46 |
| 2 | Saint George | 24 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 34 – 16 | +18 | 46 |
| 3 | Ethiopian Coffee | 24 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 41-25 | +16 | 45 |
| 4 | Defence Force | 23 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 41 – 25 | +16 | 43 |
| 5 | Sidama Coffee | 24 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 27 – 16 | +11 | 40 |
| 6 | Hawassa City FC | 23 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 33 – 28 | + 5 | 33 |
| 6 | Harar Brewery FC | 23 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 23 – 18 | + 5 | 33 |
| 8 | Mugher Cement | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 21 – 23 | + 2 | 33 |
| 9 | Dire Dawa City | 23 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 22 – 31 | -9 | 29 |
| 10 | Adama City FC | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 23 – 35 | -12 | 28 |
| 11 | EEPCO FC | 23 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 28 – 29 | – 1 | 27 |
| 12 | Ethiopian Banks SC | 23 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 23 – 29 | -6 | 26 |
| 13 | Trans Ethiopia | 24 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 19- 34 | -15 | 23 |
| 14 | Sebeta City | 23 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 22 – 32 | -11 | 21 |
| 15 | Lideta Nyala | 23 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 21 – 35 | -14 | 21 |
| 16 | Fincha Sugar | 24 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 14 – 45 | -31 | 9 |
Leading Goal Scorers?
15 Getaneh Kebede (Dedebit)
15 Adane Girma (St George)
13 Biniyam Assefa (Sebeta)
12 Dawit Fekadu (Dedebit)
11 Fitsum G/Mariam (Mugher)
10 Oumed Ukuri (Defense)
10 Mulualem Tilahun (Coffee)
9 Chala Diriba (Defense)
9 Philip Dawuzi (EEPCO)
8 Biniyam Ayele (Harar Beer)
