Uganda Cranes struggles persist after friendly defeat to CAR

Disappointed. Players Okwi and Juuko

KAMPALA.

Sebastien Desabre’s search for Cranes chemistry continued in disappointing fashion as Uganda fell 1-0 to Central African Republic (CAR) in Niamey, Niger on Wednesday night.
The friendly result means Desabre remains with only one win in eight matches (three at Chan) - a 3-1 victory over Sao Tome and Principe early in the year.
Desabre took over late last December, the Frenchman replacing the now Orlando Pirates coach Micho Sredojevic.
At the Stade Général Seyni Kountché in Niamey, CAR’s Ralph Kottoy punished the Cranes with the game’s only goal towards the end of the first half to leave more questions than answers ahead of Afcon qualifiers in September-through-November.
“We played and fought well during the match,” said Desabre. “I saw the effort, fighting spirit from all the players.
“Unfortunately, it was just one mistake that cost us. We shall plan ahead for the next match and we have to improve.” H
is captain on the day, Hassan Wasswa, said “The players gave their all but did not get the result we all desired.”
“It is a wake up call for us and an opportunity to rectify our mistakes early enough before the Afcon 2019 qualifier against Tanzania.
“We need to regroup and clean the mistakes before taking on Niger on Saturday.” Regroup, they must, because together with their coach, they need to get something workable before Uganda welcome neighbours Tanzania on September 7.
Uganda, who top Group A of the Afcon qualifiers after the first match, will thereafter face Lesotho in back-to-back encounters before wrapping the year with a home engagement against Cape Verde.
The Cranes are bidding to qualify for Afcon finals for the second successive time after breaking a 40-year jinx with Gabon 2017 appearance.