AFCON 2019 qualifiers: Uganda goes top of Group L

Jun 12, 2017

Geoffrey Sserunkuuma scores the only goal of the game as The Cranes bag a vital away victory against Cape Verde.

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS 2019 QUALIFIERS

Cape Verde 0  Uganda 1

Uganda took charge of Group L of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification after an away win against Cape Verde on Sunday.

Geoffrey Sserunkuuma scored in the 83rd minute at the Estádio da Várzea in Praia to lift The Cranes' hopes of making it to a second successive AFCON finals following a long spell out of the tournament.

And after Uganda's other group rivals Tanzania and Lesotho played out a 1-1 draw in the opener, it means The Cranes can relish a bright start in a group of considerably beatable opposition unlike in previous campaigns.

For now, they sit at the summit with a gulf of two points between them and Lesotho and Tanzania who both have a point.

After Sunday's defeat, Cape Verde are placed rock-bottom.

Uganda's head coach Milutin Sredojević, best known as Micho, knows it's still early days, with a long way still to go. But with Uganda's next group match - against Tanzania - some nine months away, the Serbian tactician has some good time to fine-tune his side.

He will have been delighted by the resilience The Cranes  showcased away from the comfort of home in their opening game of the campaign, with KCCA striker Sserunkuuma's introduction late on proving timely.

The forward, who celebrated his 34th birthday in camp, was brought on in the 76th minute in place of Emmauel Okwi who for long periods failed to find his way past an Almeida Taigo and Carlos Rodrigues-led defence.

 

Seven minutes after his introduction, Sserunkuuma caught home keeper Dias Josimar out of position and, with impressive poacher instincts, struck home from a Godfrey Walusimbi delivery to silence the partisan crowd.

With seven minutes left on the clock, the hosts huffed and puffed, but failed to level matters against a side placed 13 slots higher in the FIFA World rankings.

The Blue Sharks were dominant for longer periods of the game, but in the end, it was The Cranes that soared highest.

After the game, Micho said his side's victory was a result of hardwork that started as soon as Uganda exited the 2016 Africa Nations Cup finals in Gabon in the preliminary stages.

"I have been following every detail of Cape Verde's national football team. I knew time would come for us to take our chances and score. We are going to continue this form because we want to improve. Substitute (Serunkuuma) came at the right time," he said.

The Cranes will next face neighbours Tanzania in March next year as will Cape Verde against Lesotho.

Uganda's football governing body (FUFA) boss Eng Moses Magogo celebrated The Cranes' victory with goalscorer Geoffrey Sserunkuuma

 

 

 

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