Cubs devour Seychelles to set up Rwanda clash

Olinga (L) celebrates his strike with Obuya (R) and Samuel Kato. PHOTO by ISMAIL KEZAALA

What you need to know:

Soccer. There were no goals this time round for Obuya, captain Andrew Okiring and Frank Tumwesigye

Even without over-aged players, there is enough talent in Uganda, good enough to progress to the second round of the 2015 African under-17 championship qualifiers, as evidenced on Saturday at Lugogo.

The Uganda Cubs, in their first home game since being suspended in 2010 for using an over-aged player eliminated Seychelles 3-0 and 5-1 on aggregate to set up a meeting against Rwanda.

With a 2-1 lead from the first leg, Charles Ssebutinde’s fourth minute goal was all it took to dispel any doubts about which team would play Rwanda next month.

From then on, it was one way traffic as the Cubs launched attack after attack on the opposition area.

The second goal duly arrived 13 minutes later when Alex Komakech’s cross was turned in by a Seychelles defender before Emmanuel Olinga’s long range strike made it 3-0 after 31 minutes.

The second half, which started with two missed penalties on either side, saw the game follow a similar script with Komakech at the heart of most of the Cubs’ goal scoring opportunities.

While there was no goal this time round for Pius Obuya, the Risah Standard Academy striker along with captain Andrew Okiring and Frank Tumwesigye did enough to impress Seychelles coach Gavin Jeanne. “We lost to a more talented team over the two legs,” said Jeanne while singling out the Ugandan trio.

His counterpart Matthias Lule, meanwhile, refused to be carried away by the result.

“It is a good start although there are many things the boys still need to learn,” he opined after the game.

The win booked the Cubs a game against Rwanda on the weekend starting July 18 with two stages left to next year’s finals in Niger.

2015 AFRICAN UNDER 17 CHAMPIONSHIP RETURN LEG
Uganda Cubs 3-0 Seychelles
Cubs win 5-1 on aggregate
SECOND ROUND QUALIFIER
Cubs vs. Rwanda, July 18