Only a miracle can salvage Cranes' campaign

Africa Nations Championship
Uganda 0 Zambia 1
Mali 1 Zimbabwe 0
Wednesday, 3pm
Live on SS9/GOTV
Uganda v Zimbabwe
Standings P W D L GD Pts
Zambia   2 2 0 0 2 6
Mali        2 1 0 1 1 4
Uganda   2 0 1 1 -1 1
Zimbabwe 2 0 2 0 -2 0

In the aftermath of Uganda's 1-0 defeat to Zambia in the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) on Saturday, a group of Zambians teasingly asked Cranes fans outside the Umuganda Stadium that; "When do we play and beat you again?"

Coincidentally, the same ‘Chipolopolo fans group' travelled with the Zambian team to Kampala back in 2012 and had fond memories of their home-and away aggregate win over Cranes in the 2013 Nations Cup qualifiers.

On the evidence of recent meetings, the Chipolopolo somehow always find a way past Cranes.

Somehow their captain Christopher Katongo always finds his way into Cranes' net.

And just like the goal he scored in the first leg of the 2012 Nations Cup qualifiers in Ndola, his first half strike on 40 minutes at the Umuganda Stadium also turned out to be the match-winner.

Just like the goal he scored against the senior team back then, the consequences of his goal on Saturday will be felt in the subsequent match -this time in the final Group D game against Zimbabwe.

As it stands, only mathematics can preserve Uganda's prospects of making the knock-out stages of the competition designed for local-based players.

If Cranes, with just one point, are to defy the odds and make their first ever presence into the last eight, they will have to thump Zimbabwe on Wednesday, and hope that their closest challengers for second place Mali, currently on four points, suffer a humiliating defeat against Zambia.

In the previous championship in South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe drew goalless.

That in a way highlights the kind of challenge that awaits the Cranes this week.

The truth is, Cranes could have avoided such permutations if they hadn't designed their strategy on the youthful shoulders of Farouk Miya.

The Cranes could have avoided this complex situation had the team's head coach Micho Sredejovic opted for the right tactical decisions, particularly in the game against Zambia.

Moving forward, and that is whether or not Cranes progress to the knock-out stages, the Serbian will have to find a formula of winning games without Miya.

Considering that the likes of Geoffrey Massa are in the final stages of their national career, Micho will have to find attacking alternatives outside Miya and Massa, if Cranes are to successfully ease their way through the 2017 Africa Nations Cup qualifiers.

Without the Vipers star, the Cranes have proved ineffective.

That has been the story at this championship, and in the event that nothing changes, Uganda might risk bottling a promising AFCON campaign in the homeand- away games against Burkina Faso in March.