Result
Tanzania 1-0 Uganda
Uganda Cranes lost 1-0 to Tanzania in a pre-chan three-nation tournament in Arusha thanks to Iddi Nado first half goal.
The Taifa Stars were dominant in the first half and fully deserved to take the lead before the break with Nado’s long range strike beating Joel Mutakubwa after he mistimed the ball’s bounce.
The Cranes improved after the break especially with the introduction of Ivan Ahimbisibwe and Joel Sserunjogi.
Speaking after the game, Byekwaso admitted his team struggled in the first half but was better after the first.
“We didn’t press enough in the first half, gave them a lot of time to build from behind and they hurt us,” he said. “But after the break, we improved, dominated and limited them to a few chances from counter attacks and we want to build on this in the next game,” he added.
His captain Allan Okello was positive despite defeat – “It wasn’t an easy game, we lost today but we dominated and it is not easy to do especially playing away from home,” he said.
“We needed to create many chances and utilize the few we did but this is a preparation game and we shall work on our mistakes in the next game and be ready for the tournament.”
Uganda return to action against CHAN holders Senegal on Thursday before returning home for final preps.
The CHAN begin on August 2 and will co-hosted by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
How Cranes lined up:
Starting XI: Mutakubwa (GK), Gavin, Achai, Mwere, Torach, Youngman, Watambala, Okello, Kakande, Yunus & Ssemugabi
Used Subs: Sserujongi, Ssebagala, Ahimbisibwe, Lazaro, Nana, Usama, Mpande
