Basena impressed by Cranes attitude, fighting spirit

Uganda Cranes coach Moses Basena was left impressed by the positive attitude exhibited by locally based players after watching them defeat a northern region select side on Saturday.

The Cranes won the regional tour fixture played at Lango Sports Ground in Lira 2-0 courtesy of two second half strikes by KCCA FC forward Derrick Nsibambi.

Cranes' resilient opponents who dug deep to force a goalless draw at halftime were easily subdued early on into the second half as Nsibambi capitalized on a pair of defensive lapses to slot home twice in the space of seven minutes.

He scored in the 55' and 62' minutes to secure the win for Cranes.

"I must say I am very much pleased with the attitude of my players in this particular game. They were very positive and always looked sharp going forward. That kind of hunger is very vital for us as we prepare to take on Ghana next weekend" Basena said after the match.

"We literally have no other choice against Ghana other than attacking right from the first whistle because we need to score the goals to get that win to keep our World Cup hopes alive. These players looked fit, and owe that to the league that kicked off. I am going to have a number of them in the senior side and hope the positive attitude and fighting spirit can be replicated" he added.

The team returned to Kampala on Sunday morning and had an evening training session at Namboole Stadium as they await professional players who started coming in Sunday.