Uganda Cranes earned their place at the semi-finals of CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup currently underway in Kenya after their hard fought 1-1 draw aganist Ethiopia at Kakamega.

Walia Antelopes opened the scoring first through Abubeker Abdela’s 26th minute thriller from outside the box that hit the cross bar into the net with Cranes keeper well beaten.

Ethiopia carried their lead to second half that opened with both sides playing cards close into their chests.

Uganda however made crucial changes in the second half successfully pushing Ethiopia into their own half.

Cranes suffered a major setback in the later minutes of the half as the challenges continued flying in from the Ibexs, with Isaac Muleme given matching orders for a second booking.

Ethiopia continued plugging away for a second as the game headed into the final 10 minutes but were this time unable to test Watenga as a header flashed wide of the mark.

Uganda bounced back to snatch a draw in the 85nd minute when Derrick Nsimbabi netted from Ethiopia’s keeper error after he paired the ball to his path for an equaliser.

The match however went into a do or die session with both sides defending vehemently to deny their opponents a goal.

Uganda will now wait for the Group A’s last group matches to know who they play in the semis next week.