Cranes need to get balance right to revive Chan hopes

KAMPALA. Say what you will, and there is a bit to be said, about Benjamin Ochan’s kamikaze goalkeeping during Uganda’s 3-1 defeat against Zambia, but it is really beyond question that moments of weakness were provided elsewhere as The Cranes opened their Chan 2018 account on a bitingly cold Sunday night in Marrakech, Morocco.

In his first competitive match as Cranes coach, Sébastien Desabre shoehorned his team with a bewildering array of attacking players.
Ibrahim Sadam Juma, Muzamir Mutyaba and Allan Kyambadde all started as the Frenchman stuck to his promise of playing champagne football. Whilst the purists must have been greatly pleased by Uganda’s gung-ho style, the failure to get the balance right emerged as a sobering thought, certainly for Desabre.

The 41-year-old coach attempted to address the slow transition/cover from his deep-lying midfielders (Sadam and Tadeo Lwanga) by introducing Moses Waiswa. Trailing 2-1 at the time, The Cranes had a fighting chance, but Ochan put paid any flagging hopes of a comeback by dropping the mother of all clangers.

The loss means that Uganda — who have failed to reach the Chan’s business end in three previous attempts — has its work cut out in this the championship’s fifth edition.
The Cranes won’t be in action until Thursday when they come up against Namibia. The tournament debutants pulled a rabbit out of a hat when they used Vetunuavi Hambira’s stoppage time goal to stun 2016 semifinalists Ivory Coast.

Needless to say, Namibia will be anything but pushovers during Thursday’s late kick-off in the chilly conditions at Stade de Marrakech.
A bare-chested Khassim Kyazze popped eyes when he rallied behind The Cranes even as the chips fell down in Marrakech.
A little balance on Thursday will not only warm his and other Cranes fans’ hearts, but also resuscitate what already looks like a failing pulse in unforgivingly cold conditions.

[email protected]