Cranes stick to local test as Sudan call off friendly
Cranes defender Andy Mwesigwa (middle) was outstanding in the 1-0 defeat in Ndola last month. He however must replicate that form when Zambia visit next weekend
What you need to know:
Soccer. Uganda must win by a two-goal margin to qualify at the expense of the reigning African champions
Cranes coach Bobby Williamson maintains Sudan pulling out of a scheduled friendly with Uganda this weekend is not a blow to the team’s preparations. Uganda’s northern neighbours became the latest nation to pull out of a friendly with the Cranes this year after those against Egypt and Malawi fell through due to varying reasons.
Unconfirmed reports indicate the Sudanese have instead opted for a friendly against a West African country. Cranes coordinator Crispus Muyinda confirmed the development. “It is true the friendly is off,” he said, “I have not got all the details yet though.”
The news once again leaves Cranes to face Zambia in the Nations Cup qualifier next weekend without playing any international friendly.
Unconcerned
But Bobby believes this will not affect their planning. “I don’t think it will,” he dismissively told Daily Monitor after yesterday’s training at the Namboole outside pitch, “We’ll just continue working with these guys and keep on improving.
“We’ll have another game against local opposition, probably the under 23s, before the Zambia game and see how it goes. We should have it probably Saturday or Sunday.”
In their first build-up friendly against the Hippos, the under-20 national side, Cranes were 6-1 victors with Geoffrey Massa netting a hattrick.
But Bobby warns against reading against the scoreline saying these build-ups are mainly to boost the players’ fitness levels. “We were playing against young kids, and Zambia won’t be a roll over. But it was also an opportunity for kids to test themselves against the big boys.
“These games are good for players’ fitness but you cannot judge that from Sunday. The actual match fitness is different from a build-up game. “As I said, is to improve their fitness and as the game approaches their fitness levels will be higher. So we’ll continue monitoring the lads.”
The Cranes need to win by a two-goal margin to be certain of qualifying for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa at the expense of Zambia.
=============================
2013 afcon qualifier namboole, october 13 Uganda (0) vs Zambia (1) Namboole stadium
