Teen Cranes Fight Back Twice to Hold Ethiopia in Six-Goal Thriller

Uganda’s U-17 women’s national football team, the Teen Cranes, displayed great resilience as they came from behind twice to earn a 3-3 draw against Ethiopia in a friendly match played on Thursday in Ethiopia.

The encounter served as part of Uganda’s preparations for the 2026 CECAFA U-17 Women’s Championship, which gets underway this weekend in Tanzania.

Joan Namakula, Flavia Yagala, and Martha Babirye were on target for Uganda, while Ethiopia’s goals came through a brace from Liday Eaysu and a strike from Aeyel Mairhat.

The hosts made a dream start to the match as Eaysu opened the scoring in the first minute before doubling Ethiopia’s advantage just seven minutes later.

Despite the early setback, the Teen Cranes responded impressively. Babirye pulled one back before Namakula found the equaliser, ensuring the two sides went into the halftime break level at 2-2.

Ethiopia regained the lead in the 65th minute through Mairhat, but Uganda once again showed character and determination in search of another equaliser.

Their persistence paid off deep into stoppage time when Yagala found the back of the net to secure a deserved 3-3 draw for Sheryl Botes’ side.

The result highlighted the team’s fighting spirit and provided valuable lessons for the technical bench as they continue fine-tuning preparations for the regional tournament.

Uganda have been drawn in Group B alongside South Sudan, Djibouti, and Zanzibar.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals as they battle for the championship title.

The Teen Cranes head into the tournament as defending champions, having won the competition in 2019 under the guidance of coach Ayub Khalifah.