Uganda Cranes under pressure

Uganda Cranes are under greater pressure ahead of their return leg match of the Africa Nations Championship  (CHAN) qualifier against Taifa Stars at Namboole this Saturday.

Taifa Stars go into the encounter on the back foot having conceded a 1-0 defeat at home a fortnight ago but can exploit the attacking crisis in the Uganda Cranes’ set-up and overturn the first leg deficit. Cranes coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic reportedly regrouped with the rest of his Cranes team on Tuesday in a gruelling session and expressed his concerns with lack of goals among his strikers.

Micho challenged his strikers to put right their application in the final third or risk missing out on next year’s CHAN finals in South Africa. “We need to start scoring. Unfortunately, we don’t have time. All I need to do now is help the players I have to focus and concentrate.

The best I can do is teach them good positioning and how to make something out of nothing. How to open spaces and utilize them,” Micho is quoted as saying ahead of Saturday’s showdown. “We struggled to score while in Tanzania and the very problem so happened in the trial games against Uganda Kobs last Friday, so it’s either now or never to solve the problem.” Micho told the Cranes players.

Cranes scoring troubles were highlighted from the fact that the team lost two of its friendly games against the U-23 Kobs team with identical 1-0 defeats last Friday and had to rely on midfielder Denis Iguma for the all-important goal in Dar es Salaam.

The situation has not been helped by the fact that two of his first choice strikers Tony Odur and Patrick Edema are out of the return leg. Odur has been ruled out with a groin injury while Edema travelled to Portugal for a trial stint and Micho is now looking to forwards Frank Kalanda and David Kasirye among others for a solution.

And according to Ugandan newspapers, Micho will also have to design a strategy to frustrate Tanzania’s trio of Amri Kiemba, Mrisho Ngassa and John Bocco. The three did not hurt Cranes in Dar es Salaam but the Ugandans believe will possess enough ammunition to wreak havoc.

A 20-man Taifa Stars squad under head coach Kim Poulsen left for Kampala yesterday showing no signs they will be intimidated in Saturday’s decisive encounter which they must win to realize their dream of reaching the second CHAN finals. Poulsen told a press conference in Mwanza the players have been training seriously since pitching camp in the Western region on July 14 and are well prepared for the duel.

“The match will be tough but we believe we shall win. We have laid down sound strategies which we’re going to perfect in Kampala,” Poulsen told reporters. Poulsen is expected to make slight changes in his first team line-up in the absence of prolific defender Shomari Kapombe and midfielder Mwinyi Kazimoto who travelled for professional trials in Qatar and Holland respectively.

Players who boarded the plane are: Goalkeepers — Juma Kaseja, Mwadini Ali and Ali Mustafa.

Defenders — Aggrey Morris, David Luhende, Erasto Nyoni, Kelvin Yondani, Nadir Haroub and Vincent Barnabas.

Midfielders — Amri Kiemba, Athuman Idd, Frank Domayo, Haruni Chanongo, Khamis Mcha, Mudhathir Yahya, Salum Abubakar and Simon Msuva. Strikers — John Boko, Juma Luizio and Mrisho Ngassa.