Striker Saifeldin Maki’s second half strike was enough to give Sudan a narrow win over Burundi in their Second Round second leg clash of the Total African Nations Championship (CHAN) Kenya 2018 qualifier on Saturday at El Obeid Stadium in Obeid.

The El-Khartoum forward netted the only goal of the encounter four minutes after the break to ensure passage for the Desert Hawks 1-0 on aggregate and set up a date with Ethiopia at the third and final round.

The first leg between the two sides in Bujumbura ended in a barren stalemate, but the Sudanese made the most of their home advantage in the reverse to progress to the last hurdle of the qualifiers for the tournament designed exclusively for footballers playing in their domestic leagues.

Sudan’s only participation in the championship initiated in 2009 was in 2011, finishing third as host.

The Desert Hawks travel to Ethiopia for the first leg on the weekend of 11-13 August 2017 before hosting the return a week later.

Uganda battles Rwanda in the other Central-East Zone clash to decide the two teams for the final tournament scheduled for 12 January to 4 February 2018 in Kenya.