13th African Games (Football – Boys)
Semi-finals (Tuesday, 19th March 2024):
Uganda Vs Congo – 5 PM (Local Time), 8 PM (EAT)
Ghana Vs Senegal – 8 PM (Local Time), 11 PM (EAT)
*Both matches at Accra Sports Stadium, Accra city
Morley Byekwaso Ochama is the gentleman at the helm of the Uganda national U-20 football team, tagged as the Hippos currently in Ghana for the 13th African Games.
Byekwaso is a retired former midfielder who debuted for the national senior team, Uganda Cranes, aged 18 years in 1996, against Ethiopia.
At 16 years of age, he was entrusted by Fred Mugisha to be licenced at Kampala City Council (now Kampala Capital City Authority) football club and did not disappoint.
Through his football journey, Byekwaso excelled with the awesome positional awesome, affluent ball dribbling and passing skills as he easily manuvoured through opposition players despite his diminutive size.
As Byekwaso and the rest of the back room team prepare to entangle Congo in the semi-finals of the African Games, he is away of the threat posed by physically endowed players.
“During my playing days, I faced tough and strong players from Congo. I know we shall face such characters and my players are all prepared” Byekwaso told the media after Uganda’s 1-0 win over South Sudan at the University of Ghana stadium.
“I have not watched any of their (Congo) matches. But, definitely, I will revisit the videos” he confessed.
He acknowledged the threat from very physical players as the Congolese. “We have to be ready for the physical game and do basic things quicker” he spoke of the game strategy.
Uganda won all their three matches in group B; opening up with a 2-1 win over Nigeria, overcoming Senegal and South Sudan by an identical 1-0 result.
Congo held Ghana and Benin to goalless stalemates before winning 3-2 over The Gambia.
Tactical plan:
The game will definitely be won and lost with the team that plans best. From goalkeeping, defence, midfield, attack to the bench, it will all matter most.
Uganda itself has got players with promising height, strength and general body stature as the team skipper Rogers Torach Ochaki and his defensive partner Ronald Madoi, Apollo Kagogwe, Ivan Irinimbabazi, Allan Oyirwoth, Innocent Kisolo and the diligent Bruno Bunyaga.
These are players that can easily match the demands of a physical contest with brains to contain and win the duel.
Between now and kick-off, it remains a matter of planning for the respective technical benches in the box to name the match winning line up, pass on specific tactics during the game as well as get right the changes to turn around the game.
Either Uganda or Congo will face the winner of the second semi-final between hosts Ghana and Senegal.
For starters, Byekwaso was in charge of the Uganda U-20 that lost to Ghana in the AFCON U-20 tournament hosted by Mauritania in 2020.
Byekwaso also played for Uganda Kobs in 1999 at the All African Games hosted by South Africa.
Bravo Hippos