Csaba dreams of Rwanda win
Dec 10, 2007
LASZLO Csaba is one man who has suffered anxiety attacks in recent years watching his Cranes side endure either a scoring crisis, or limp past opponents with very slim scores.
FRED KAWEESI IN DAR-ES-SALAAM
SENIOR CHALLENGE CUP
Burundi 3 Somalia 0
Today
Group B
Djibouti v Eritrea 1.30pm
Rwanda v Uganda 4pm
Tomorrow
Kenya v Burundi 1.30pm
Somalia v Tanzania 4pm
LASZLO Csaba is one man who has suffered anxiety attacks in recent years watching his Cranes side endure either a scoring crisis, or limp past opponents with very slim scores.
Yet only hours after Cranes’ 7-0 stroll over Djibouti, the German tactician was so relaxed he fell asleep in his favourite armchair at the team’s Starlight Hotel. Perhaps Csaba was dreaming of Hamis Kitagenda yet again defying his critics and scoring a hat-trick in today’s cracking fixture against old nemesis Rwanda.
Justifying his previous league season 20 goal-tally, the KCC FC forward brutalised hapless Djibouti with a sensational hat-trick in the space of 45 minutes.
Rwanda, Uganda’s opponents today, will prove far more formidable opponents, the more reason Kitagenda and team-mates will have to deliver to make certain of a win. A win will virtually guarantee Cranes a quarter-final place.
‘I hope to continue doing what I enjoy most and that’s scoring. That’s what I will be noted for and not how many assists I make or times I run on the pitch,’ said Kitagenda.
But Csaba needs no history books to remind him of Rwanda’s enduring ability to dash Ugandan hopes in major competitions en route to furthering their own reputation.
He has first hand knowledge, having watched his side collapse to the Amavubi in the third-place play-off in last year’s tournament. To a few, memories of the 2004 Nations Cup qualifier 1-0 defeat at Namboole still stick. But what about that identical defeat suffered in the 2005 CECAFA semi-finals?
Luckily for Csaba, the eternal optimist, the history of bitter rivalry between the two nations is irrelevant. ‘What matters is how we play today. I think we have a great chance of beating them. We have the players and have the spirit,’ said Csaba.
Cranes midfield industry will certainly give Csaba a platform on which to construct his 4-4-2 formation, with a couple of senior figures Simeon Masaba, Noah Kasule, Assan Bajope making their first appearances.
Probable line-up: H.Kalyesuubula, S.Masaba, G.Kateregga, M.Doka, A.Mwesigwa, N.Kasule, D.Wagaluka, A.Bajope, H.Kitagenda, C.Okuti, P.Ssozi.
Group B standings
P W L D F A Pts
Uganda 1 1 0 0 7 0 3
Rwanda 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Eritrea 1 0 1 0 1 2 0
Djibouti 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
SENIOR CHALLENGE CUP
Burundi 3 Somalia 0
Today
Group B
Djibouti v Eritrea 1.30pm
Rwanda v Uganda 4pm
Tomorrow
Kenya v Burundi 1.30pm
Somalia v Tanzania 4pm
LASZLO Csaba is one man who has suffered anxiety attacks in recent years watching his Cranes side endure either a scoring crisis, or limp past opponents with very slim scores.
Yet only hours after Cranes’ 7-0 stroll over Djibouti, the German tactician was so relaxed he fell asleep in his favourite armchair at the team’s Starlight Hotel. Perhaps Csaba was dreaming of Hamis Kitagenda yet again defying his critics and scoring a hat-trick in today’s cracking fixture against old nemesis Rwanda.
Justifying his previous league season 20 goal-tally, the KCC FC forward brutalised hapless Djibouti with a sensational hat-trick in the space of 45 minutes.
Rwanda, Uganda’s opponents today, will prove far more formidable opponents, the more reason Kitagenda and team-mates will have to deliver to make certain of a win. A win will virtually guarantee Cranes a quarter-final place.
‘I hope to continue doing what I enjoy most and that’s scoring. That’s what I will be noted for and not how many assists I make or times I run on the pitch,’ said Kitagenda.
But Csaba needs no history books to remind him of Rwanda’s enduring ability to dash Ugandan hopes in major competitions en route to furthering their own reputation.
He has first hand knowledge, having watched his side collapse to the Amavubi in the third-place play-off in last year’s tournament. To a few, memories of the 2004 Nations Cup qualifier 1-0 defeat at Namboole still stick. But what about that identical defeat suffered in the 2005 CECAFA semi-finals?
Luckily for Csaba, the eternal optimist, the history of bitter rivalry between the two nations is irrelevant. ‘What matters is how we play today. I think we have a great chance of beating them. We have the players and have the spirit,’ said Csaba.
Cranes midfield industry will certainly give Csaba a platform on which to construct his 4-4-2 formation, with a couple of senior figures Simeon Masaba, Noah Kasule, Assan Bajope making their first appearances.
Probable line-up: H.Kalyesuubula, S.Masaba, G.Kateregga, M.Doka, A.Mwesigwa, N.Kasule, D.Wagaluka, A.Bajope, H.Kitagenda, C.Okuti, P.Ssozi.
Group B standings
P W L D F A Pts
Uganda 1 1 0 0 7 0 3
Rwanda 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Eritrea 1 0 1 0 1 2 0
Djibouti 1 0 1 0 0 0 0