CHAN:🇺🇬Cranes ejected,Holders Morocco book their place in quarter-finals |Sbk Sports Mail

Brian Sentuuya🇺🇬 January 27, 2021 (Last updated: May 2, 2022) 4 minutes read

Midfielders Ibrahim Orit and Saidi Kyeyune scored for the Ugandans but their efforts were not enough to prevent them from the heavy defeat.

Title holders Morocco reached the quarter-finals of the TOTAL African Nations Championship (CHAN) after their emphatic 5-2 victory over Uganda in Douala on Tuesday.

The Atlas Lions, who had come under pressure from their fans for their unimpressive showing in their first two matches of the tournament, took charge of the game by dominating the early exchanges.

They had several scoring chances to open the scoring in the opening 20 minutes but striker Ayoub El Kaabi missed three decent chances while goalkeeper Charles Lukwago was also in top form to prevent the champions from breaking the deadlock.

And against the run of play Uganda opened the scoring in the 25th minute with Orit taking advantage of some sloppy marking to fire home with goalkeeper Anas Zniti completely beaten.

The Moroccans continued to miss decent scoring opportunities as with Al Kaabi, Reda Jaadi and Soufiane Rahimi all getting opportunities to beat Lukwago who was alert.

Their efforts finally paid off just before the break when Uganda Cranes and Kyetume FC’s defender Mustafa Mujuzi handled the ball in the box, El Kaabi made no mistake by sending Lukwago the wrong way to restore parity and make history by becoming the first person to score 10 goals in the CHAN competition.

The Moroccans returned from the break determined to win the match and their second-half revival secured their emphatic victory at the Stade de la Réunification to ensure they finish top of Group C.

Adam Ennaffati took charge of tormenting their opponents from the right wing.Ennaffati combined with Rahimi to give the title holders the lead just six minutes after the break before a goal by Hamza El Moussaoui in the 71st minute made it 3-1.

The Atlas Lions continued to pile the pressure and Rahimi got his second of the match when Al Kaabi’s bicycle kick accidentally fell to him before the midfielder fired past Lukwago.

Set piece specialist Saidi Kyeyune’s free-kick just outside the goal in the 84th minute beat goalkeeper Zniti to revive the faint hopes of the Cranes but Abdellilah Hafidi’s effort went in via goalkeeper Lukwago to put the game beyond the Cranes and seal Morocco’s place at the top of the group.

Morocco and Rwanda qualified from the group as Uganda finished bottom with one point. However,despite ending the journey that started with high hopes miserably by losing 5-2 on Tuesday night to holders and favorites Morocco, Johnathan McKinstry (Head Coach, Uganda) and his entire technical team believe that the players have gained experience despite falling at the group stage of CAF African Nations Championship

‘It was a game we all always it would be challenging for us. The penalty obviously couldn’t have come at a worse time. We are not complaining about the penalty. I think it was a fair challenge. We made some mistakes and we got punished as we also started chasing the game. Congratulations to Morocco and we wish them the vest best for the rest of the tournament’

‘We cannot complain about preparation, when we set out for this project, we made certain requests to the federation it terms of how we can prepare the team. I think we got 90% of what we asked for which is very good. To be honest that was pleasing’

‘The intensity of the game in competitions is different from what you get in pre-match tournaments. We were pleased with the progress of the players and they have learnt a lot. They now know that when you get to such tournaments you take your chance. They have gained experience and will be better for the future’
Uganda Cranes Head Coach- Johnathan McKinstry said as quoted by Fufa official website

HOW THEY LINED UP

🇺🇬UGANDA CRANES XI🇺🇬