Museveni hails Cranes for beating Lesotho

Oct 14, 2018

"The country is fully behind you," tweets the President after the Uganda Cranes' home victory over the Crocodiles.

2019 AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS QUALIFICATION

Group L game three results

Uganda 3  Lesotho 0

Cape Verde 3  Tanzania 0

President Yoweri Museveni has congratulated the Uganda Cranes on "soaring above" Lesotho in Saturday's 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

The two Group L opponents faced off at Namboole, with the hosts eventually brushing the Crocodiles aside to open up a healthy lead at the top of the log.

Uganda are at the summit on seven points, Cape Verde in second on four while Lesotho and Tanzania trail on two points apiece.

"The country is fully behind you," tweeted the President after the home victory.

Uganda football governing body FUFA president Eng. Moses Magogo responded, also on Twitter, by saying that such is the supoort that "makes proud of Our Game and Our Country".

Next up, Uganda and Lesotho will meet again on Tuesday for the return leg in Maseru, and Museveni has rallied his national team to keep the pedal to the metal.

"Build on this emphatic win to get a positive result in Maseru next Tuesday and have our drive for AFCON 2019 qualification firmly in place," he said.

It was a routine win for Uganda, as two first-half goals and another after the interval ensured the tabletoppers maintained their momentum in the race for Cameroon 2019.

Emmanuel Okwi opened the rout with a sublime finish in the 11th minute, before Farouk Miya buried the ball past Lesotho keeper Mohau Kuenane from the spot after Okwi was brought down in the box nine minutes before half-time.

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On a good day at the office for Okwi, the Simba FC forward completed his brace midway into the second half with a straighforward header after Edrisa Lubega's hardwork.

Lesotho hardly troubled Cranes goalkeeper and former African Player of the Year Denis Onyango.

The First Lady, Janet Museveni, who is also the education and sports minister, also took to Twitter to deliver her congratulatory message.

"CONGRATULATIONS @UgandaCranes! Great job and a well earned victory against the Lesotho Likuena. One step closer to the AFCON Championship. And now on to Maseru," she tweeted.

With three group-stage games remaining and three points adrift of the table, victory for the Cranes on Tuesday will more than buoy their chances of qualifying for the finals of the continent's biggest footballing stage in Cameroon.

Uganda made it to the finals two years ago after a nearly four-decade wait. With relatively more manageable opposition this time round, it is more likely that East Africa's footballing giant will go through for a second consecutive edition.

 

Also related to this story

Uganda beat Lesotho 3-0 in 2019 AFCON qualifier

AFCON 2019 Qualifiers: Uganda 0 Tanzania 0

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