African Cup of Nations  in Ghana

 Monday 

Uganda(Women)  v Namibia- 10am

Uganda  (Men) v  Ghana -7pm

Coach Moses Nsereko has urged She Cranes to hunt for goals and live up to the task in their opening fixture against Namibia in the Hockey African Cup of Nations that gets underway in Ghana on Monday.

"I have already talked to my players to hunt for goals in the first game as to gain confidence and self-belief to take on the other teams," noted Nsereko after the team arrived safely in Ghana.

The team is in good condition after no player tested positive for covid-19 on arrival in the country.

This gives Nsereko high hopes that once he fields his best team,  the opponents will be on the receiving end. 

"I am happy that all my players are safe and will be fielding the best team," Nsereko said.

The team will look to defender Winnie Alaro and midfielders Doreen Assimwe and Margret Nassiwa for inspiration.

However, the striking force led by Doreen Mbabali will be heavily tasked to score goals.

The conversion rate for the She Cranes has not been good if you are to consider their previous outing in Nairobi last year at the hockey test series where they lost all three games to Kenya.

But this time around, a benefit of the doubt has to be given to them.

For the men's side, Emmanuel Baguma, the captain of the team has promised a good start to the tournament as they face hosts Ghana.

"I am confident that we are going to win the first game. We play against the hosts but based on the level of experience in our squad we are good to go," Baguma said.

“Having a squad that has both local and foreign-based players will enable us to pile a lot of pressure on the opponents and eventually get the win."

The  Cranes play a high pressing game full of runs on all flanks of the pitch and this is a system inculcated in them by their coach  Vincent Kasasa.

Kasasa believes in the Johan Cruyff philosophy of coaching that stipulates that the best way of defending is by attacking.

The only worrying issue is the low conversion rate of short corners by both teams.

But the overall head coach Franchesco  Richichi believes this will be handled. 

"As the coaching team, we are devising a well-stipulated format that the players must use to increase on the goal conversion rate from short corners,"  Richichi noted.

The Cranes are grouped in Pool A with Ghana, Nigeria, and Egypt the defending champions well as the She Cranes are with Namibia, Zimbabwe, and  South Africa.

The last edition of the hockey AFCON was held in South Africa in 2019 and Egypt won the men's category while South Africa won the women's category.