AFCON 2017 qualifier: Comoros 0 Uganda 1

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  By Joseph Kizza
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Uganda’s Gabon 2017 campaign is right on track after the Cranes saw off Comoros in an Africa Nations Cup qualifier at the Mitsamiouli Stadium.

Saturday’s was the second Group D win for Coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic’s side, following victory over Botswana earlier in June.

Uganda now leads the group with six points, after Botswana beat Burkina Faso 1-0 in the second Group D game played later on Saturday.

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And it was another frustrating performance from Les Coelecantes in front of a home crowd, worsened by a missed penalty effort later on.

The Cranes took the lead on artificial turf through Iceland-based Tonny Mawejje, who plays for Throttur FC.

The Ugandan midfielder’s powerful finish 26 minutes into the game came less than two minutes after Comoros had swept off the line an effort from Farouk Miya’s free-kick after striker and skipper Geoffrey Massa was brought down on the edge.

The resilient hosts, ranked 119 places below Uganda in the newly released FIFA world rankings, almost leveled from a free-kick but goalkeeper Denis Onyango was keen to keep the effort out.

The South Africa-based keeper, who plays for Mamelodi Sundowns, was again called into action after restart when he saved a penalty to keep his side’s advantage intact.

It was defender Denis Iguma the culprit here – his handball in the area gifted the hosts a penalty but Les Coelecantes blew that glorious opportunity.

Moments before, Micho had brought on Albania-based Ivan Ntege in place of Brian Umony, and once the KF Tirana player was on the pitch, he would soon be booked for an offence.

A largely subdued Massa, having been hit earlier with a water bottle by a frustrated home fan, missed an opportunity late on that would have cushioned the Cranes’ lead and all but end the contest.

But with time running out, and nothing coming out of a late Comoros freekick, it was the visitors that took the day.

Uganda's next Group D fixtures are scheduled for next year, and with plenty of time left until then, Coach Micho will set out to galvanise his side in a bid to make it to the finals of the continent’s biggest football competition – a fete that has remained elusive for the last 30-plus years.

Is this the time for the Cranes to put that frustrating record behind them? Only time, as always, will tell.