The Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia captain, Degu Debebe, has said despite the 2-1 loss to Nigeria Sunday they could still turn the table in the 2014 World Cup playoff.
The return leg match will be played in Calabar on November 16 with the overall winners qualifying for next year’s World Cup in Brazil.
“We missed some good scoring chances today, but we are capable of going to Nigeria and also winning,” said Debebe after the tough encounter at the National Stadium in Addis Ababa.
After a barren first half, the hosts took the lead through Behailu Assefa in the 57th minute, before Emmanuel Emenike levelled matters 10 minutes later.
But the Super Eagles put showed more aggression and got a penalty that Emenike made no mistake converting for the match winner.
Debebe said although they lost the game which was very unfortunate, he thought the referee did not give them many of the advantages.
“We badly needed a win at home, but we have lost. We need to go back to the drawing board and work hard to be able to win away from home,” added the skipper.
Ethiopia coach Sewenet Bishaw said he was disappointed with the loss.
“We wanted this win so badly, but we lost,” said Bishaw, who said they will now focus on preparing the team for the second leg.
The hosts had five players cautioned (Tesfaye Seyoum, Girma Adane, Behailu Assefa, Addis Hintsa and Aynalem Hailu), while the Super Eagles had no player booked.
