Addis Ababa— Ethiopia played out a goalless draw against visiting Benin in the first leg of the first round qualifier of the Orange 2013 Africa Cup of Nation match played in Addis Ababa on Wednesday. Benin frustrated the Ethiopian side with some solid defensive play but ten minutes in to the first half, theEthiopian striker Omod Okwury could have opened the scoring only to fluff the opportunity. The hosts had more of the play and came close again after creating another chance but Getaneh Kebede's strike went wide. Kebede did beat the Benin keeper Fabien Farnolle but the striker fell down before slotting the ball home much to the disbelief of the home crowd. Meanwhile Benin coach Manuel Amoros expressed delight at the result. "I am very happy with the result. The Ethiopian players were good in played some neat short passes creating scoring opportunities. But they were not able to penetrate our solid defensive play," he said. He added that he is hopeful to beat the Ethiopian side in the return leg. As for the Ethiopian head coach Sewnet Bishaw it was never in doubt who dominated possession but he was disappointed his side could not convert the created chances. When the coach brought in AdaneGirma, the scorer of the winning lone goal for St. George Club against the Gabonese side AS Mangasport some 12 days ago in the Orange CAF Confederation cup there were hopes for goals but it wasn't to be. "I did what I could. It was not our day. We had plenty of scoring opportunities...
