Uganda beats Sudan to qualify for CHAN finals

By Joseph Kizza

Captain Farouk Miya replicated his goal-scoring heroics as Uganda easily swept aside Sudan in the return leg of the 2016 African Nations Championships (CHAN) qualifiers in Khartoum on Sunday.

And just like in the first leg back in Kampala last week, the Cranes forward’s goal came right before the break – only this time, it was on the stroke of half-time. He netted two minutes after Ceasar Okhuti’s 43rd minute opener, all but ending the contest.

A 2-0 win on the artificial turf of the Khartoum International Stadium under floodlights meant that Uganda has progressed to the finals in Rwanda courtesy of a comprehensive 4-0 aggregate win.

The Cranes now join the likes of Nigeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Angola, Guinea, DRC, Mali and Gabon who have already made it through.

The finals will kick off on January 16 and end on February 7.

The Sudanese players will look back regrettably at the penalty they missed at Nakivubo Stadium, as an away goal should have simplified their work in the return fixture. And if mustering a comeback then proved hard enough, how they soon realized how rapidly the nature of task at hand had magnified when they trailed two minutes to half-time after an Okhuti strike.

The situation worsened in front of a home crowd as they fell further behind with only seconds to spare before the break. true

In the buildup to the game, Coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic was keen to name an attack-minded squad with the likes of Miya, Okhuti and Muzamir Mutyaba set on injecting pace, danger and versatility upfront.

And 14 minutes into the game, a glancing header by Shafiq Bakaki from a Farouk Miya freekick should have put the visitors in front. But it was such a tame effort that lacked the power to cause any harm to Sudan's defense.

Ivan Ntege went into the referee’s book for a challenge just before the half-hour mark.

After restart, with Uganda leading 2-0, Micho introduced Isaac Muleme for Ayub Ibrahim Kiiza. Frank Kalanda, who scored The Cranes’ opener in the home tie, also made way for Erisa Ssekisambu.

And with less than 20 minutes to go, the visitors’ attacking line was replenished with fresh life with the introduction of Keziron Kizito in place of Mutyaba.

By this time, the contest had fizzled out as the hosts failed to produce any form of a meaningful comeback – in the face of as many odds as having to turn the table around by scoring six goals, which of course did not happen.

Coach Micho will be pleased with his squad who have scored eight goals and conceded only one in the last four games in the competition – an average of two goals per game. The Cranes ejected Tanzania earlier in July with a 4-1 aggregate win over two ties.

CHAN is a biennial football tournament organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and features only home-based players who are active in their respective clubs.




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