Ugandan strikers keen to throw their hats in the ring

TEST OF CHARACTER. Lubega is hoping not to suffer the same fate as Okwi who failed to make the grade in Austria. PHOTO BY ISMAIL KEZAALA

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NO SHORTCUTS. Uganda commences its 2019 Afcon qualifiers with a match away to Cape Verde. The match will determine who tops the deceptively simple group that also has Tanzania and Lesotho. But goals will be key.

Edirisa Lubega found another gear in the gathering dusk, ghosting past Timothy Awany after fashioning a delightful drop of the shoulder. This took the young striker to the byline where his blue boot put in a cutback that pleaded glumly for a finishing touch.
He has a sixth sense for being at the right place and right time, but on this occasion Geoffrey Sserunkuma did not time his run to perfection.
In a heartbeat, the ball was at the other end with the team in red bibs. Mohammed Shaban and Geoffrey Massa combined, but, after a heavy touch from the latter, Benjamin Ochan gathered easily.
Uganda’s senior national football team, Cranes, was holding its penultimate training session on home soil ahead of taking part in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations finals.
It was evident in this training session - as well as its predecessors - that a mildly entertaining battle pitting Young Turks against the old guard was spinning a fascinating storyline. Joining Lubega and Shaban in making a case for the Young Turks was Derrick Nsibambi. As it turned out, Uganda was uniquely unprepared for change. Only one Young Turk - Shaban - made the grade with the hopes of Nsibambi and Lubega swiftly evaporating after they were knocked back in that order.
With hindsight, the Young Turks’ thaw was foreseeable - just not to Cranes fans who found the unapologetic persistence with an off-form Massa deeply troubling.
One of the greatest if least lauded contributions to the underpinnings of success is experience. Cranes coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic thought that experience would bode well for him at Gabon 17.
It did not. Just as was the case during the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers where they scored six in six, goals were a rare commodity for Cranes in Gabon. Only one was mustered in three matches. Owing to this, the emotional tenor for Micho to press the reset button when the 2019 Afcon qualifiers get underway in June is bound to be deafening.
Pining for a fundamental change in circumstances as the one described above is inherently relatable. Whether Micho’s interest ranges far beyond the old guard remains to be seen.
Massa, who is still searching for suitors after South African outfit Baroka FC cut him loose, has vowed to do everything possible to fight for his place in the Cranes set-up.
On his part, Sserunkuma is deserving of any enthusiastic support after reaching double figures in the Uganda Premier League (UPL) and grabbing a couple in the Caf Champions League.
The 30-something striker has made a case for himself that appears to be resonating deeply with many. But with Nsibambi also firing on all cylinders for KCCA, it has not be lost on Sserunkuma that he cannot rest on his oars.
Elsewhere, Lubega will be hoping his attempt to have a crack at professional football in Austria stands his career in good stead. This column understands that there was an attempt to send Shaban on a three-month trial stint with Dinamo Zagreb. Onduparaka and its financial backers Betway are believed to have bitterly opposed the move.
Uganda commences its 2019 Afcon qualifiers with a match away to Cape Verde in Praia. This will be the only Afcon qualifier to be played in 2017 with the rest coming in 2018. The match in Praia will probably determine who tops the deceptively simple group that also has Tanzania and Lesotho.
Uganda will need to show a ferocious appetite for goals to rule the roost. It will need a positive result in Praia to seize the initiative.
For this to materialise, the local topflight league must provide sound competition that will mine the doubtless competencies of Sserunkuma, Nsibambi and Shaban. Lubega will also hope the stinging glimpse of hardships that afflicted Emma Okwi in Europe (Austria and Denmark) don’t rain on his parade.
Okwi is back in Uganda playing football with SC Villa. Like Brian Umony, who’s returning to action after fracturing his leg, Okwi will be desperate for Lady Luck to smile on him.