The Lesotho Crocodiles on Tuesday 16th 2018 hosted the Uganda Cranes at Setsoto Stadium in an Africa Cup of Nations 2019 Qualifier group encounter that saw the Cranes get closer to qualifying for the tournament.
Neighbors Tanzania had further tilted the odds in favor of the Uganda Cranes with an earlier 2-0 upset of Cape Verde putting the ball in the table leaders’ courts. With a Mbwana Samatta (Tanzanian Captain) Inspired performance. Eliminating Cape Verde’s chances of being joint table leaders with the Uganda Cranes, before the late Cranes kick off.
The Uganda Cranes showed intent from the first minute and continued to attack and as the law of averages and numbers dictates, by the 6th minute a goal through a thunderous strike from Farouk Miya hugged the back of the net.
Uganda was determined to keep their record of not conceding a goal in the qualifiers and being the only unbeaten team in the group intact. A very high tempo first half also had a Katerega attempt cleared off the line.
A David Onyango miss-kick caused from a back pass caused some scare, but the 32-year-Old Cranes Captain was able to recover nicely with a decent save.
Hassan Wasswa conceded a free kick near the box and again the 58 capped goal keeper was able to make a wonderful save despite having seen the ball late to keep the one goal lead intact.
Farouk Miya’s 35th free kick from the left side of the pitch dipped in under the crossbar to make it 2-0 before halftime, further left the visiting fans excited and in jubilation. The 21-year-old Croatian based had made it three goals in two games against Lesotho.
The second half was a bit less tidy and it seemed the Cranes one instruction was to keep the ball and keep the lead till the end of the match. The hosts had two penalty appeals that seemed to rather fall on the referee’s deaf ears, and it wasn’t the day they were to score their first goal against Uganda ever.
Emmanuel Okwi picked up another yellow card of the tournament, hence he will have to sit out the next game at Namboole against Cape Verde, in a month’s time.
Miya was also brought off in the 51st minute, with a slight injury, though it seemed it was more of a precautionary measure to not risk him and to save his for the last two games.
All in all, the team put in a solid performance, going into double digits with 10 points, leading group L and giving them a five-point lead on their closest rival Tanzania. With the table standings, the Uganda Cranes need just a point out of a possible six to secure an appearance at the next edition of the AFCON tournament to be hosted in Cameroon next year.