Miya best bet for Cranes goals at Afcon

There are concerns about how the Cranes will get goals at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) starting with their opening Group A game against Democratic Republic of Congo today.
On their return to Afcon after a four decade absence the Cranes scored just a single goal before exiting Gabon.
Farouk Miya’s goal in the 1-all draw against Mali meant both countries departed with the least goals of all the 16 nations that took part in the 2017 edition.
The qualifiers for the 2017 edition had earlier seen the Cranes score six goals in as many matches.
The tally was matched by Burkina Faso who edged Cranes to top spot and only worse off than Ivory Coast who scored three goals in the entire qualification campaign.
Two years later the situation only seems to have improved slightly.
Uganda managed seven goals in the qualifiers with that record only better than three other nations Cameroon (6) as well as Namibia and Benin (5) among the 24 nations that qualified.
Farouk Miya remains the country’s best bet to get a goal with the HNK Gorica midfielder having scored three of the team’s seven goals in the qualifier.
They included a brace against Lesotho in an outstanding away performance in which he showed his ability from dead-ball situations with a delightful free kick.
He also scored a penalty either side of an Emma Okwi brace in a 3-0 home win over the same opponents.
The former Vipers attacked also found the back of the net five times in 30 league games for his Croatian club in the league last season.
He has also improved his set piece delivery as again witnessed in last week’s 1-0 friendly win over Nigeria in which he scored the lone goal from the penalty spot.
Okwi will meanwhile be hoping to make an impression at the tournament having missed out in 2017. He is now seeking new suitors after his Tanzanian club Simba opted not to renew his contract.
Strikers Geoffrey Sserunkuma and Patrick Kaddu were the other Cranes’ scorers in the qualifiers although the former has since been jettisoned.
Kaddu scored 14 league goals for KCCA in the league last season while Derrick Nsibambi managed three in 24 appearances for Egyptian topflight league club Smouha.
They might all have to depend on the creativity of the returning Kizito Luwagga and the exciting Syrianska youngster Abdu Lumala as well as Allan Kateregga for goals if Cranes are to make an impression.