Cranes honour game as TZ complete E.A fest

Happy for you. Denis Onyango embraces Tanzania skipper Mbwana Samatta at Namboole when both teams drew 0-0. AGENCIES

Kampala. They prepared for it in style, arriving in Dar es Salaam with a one-week camp swagger from Ismailia, Egypt looking to end the 2019 Nations Cup qualification in style.
Instead, it was the more purposeful and determined Tanzanians who showed verve, hunger and style, thrashing the Cranes last evening to end a 39-year Afcon wait.
The Cranes had also arrived at the National Stadium as the only team in qualification yet to concede a goal.
They left with a ‘basket-full’ of three without response, Simon Msuva, Erasto Nyoni and Aggrey Morris the executioners.
In the end, the Cranes had honoured the game there were no tears to waste here.
The East African Community at the 2019 Afcon finals in Egypt had emphatically been completed as Tanzania joined Uganda, Kenya and Burundi at the party.
Starting with a new-look central defence partnership as Krizestom Ntambi joined Timothy Awany in place of Murushid Jjuuko, and Tadeo Lwanga and Allan Kyambadde getting a run-out in midfield alongside Moses Waiswa and Faruku Miya, coach Sebastien Desabre’s boys had no answers to Tanzania’s questions.
Emmanuel Okwi and Patrick Kaddu upfront were hardly aware of proceedings as the 60,000 Tanzanians joined their resolute boys in cheers.
Nicholas Wadada and Godfrey Walusimbi were often caught out of position by Mbwana Samatta, goal scorer Msuva and John Bocco.
Cranes skipper Onyango had gone five matches without conceding a goal.
But that record was not going to survive Emmanuel Amunike’s boys here, who had to beat Uganda and hope for a Cape Verde victory or draw in the other group match against Lesotho for them to qualify.
They had been threatening, and when one of those waves down the left arrived in the visitors area, Cranes clearance landed on Kyambadde’s foot, inadvertently redirecting it to a Tanzanian shirt from which Msuva collected and dispatched under a diving Onyango for a 1-0 lead on 21 minutes.
Clean sheet ended and the Tanzanians looked like they wanted to to keep going, but we had to take a break.From the break, the Tanzanians - allowing Cranes occasional neat but harmless passes do rounds, knew 1-0 was never a safe haven.
Six minutes in and Belgium based forward Samatta received the ball on the left, majestically lofting it over Awany who held onto his shirt as if it were oxygen.
The striker shrugged him off and arrived in the Cranes box to find Ntambi.
Samatta turned him but the defender’s hand impeded the ball and the referee pointed to the spot.
Experienced defender Nyoni stepped forward and cool as ice dispatched Onyango the opposite direction to send the home crowd into pandemonium.
Two nil and the Tanzanians were now fully in charge, only worried of Lesotho scoring one in Praia.
But they couldn’t control events in Praia, so they decided to decisively complete their business here and see how it goes the other end.
They continued probing and three minutes to the hour Onyango was beaten for the third time in 57 minutes when Morris’ low but forever drifting shot sailed in for a memorable 3-0 victory.
Cranes brief highlights at goal were a Wadada well struck curler when he cut in and Lwanga’s long shot but all went over the bar.
Edrisa Lubega and Milton Karisa did come on for Miya and Okwi but that was only for game time.
Uganda, however, maintained their top spot in Group L with 13 points, while Tanzania qualified second with eight.

Qualified teams
Senegal (1965, 1968, 1986, 1990,
1992, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006,
2008, 2012, 2015, 2017)
Madagascar (debut)
Morocco (1972, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1986,
1988, 1992, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004,
2006, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2017)
Cameroon (1970, 1972, 1982, 1984, 1986,
1988, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000,
2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015,
2017)
Mali (1972, 1994, 2002, 2004, 2008,
2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Burundi (debut)
Algeria (1968, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986,
1988, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000,
2002, 2004, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Benin (2004, 2008, 2010)
Nigeria (1963, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982,
1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 2000,
2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2013)
Ghana (1963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1978,
1980, 1982, 1984, 1992, 1994, 1996,
1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010,
2012, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Kenya (1972, 1988, 1990, 1992, 2004)
Zimbabwe (2004, 2006, 2017)
DR Congo (1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1974,
1976, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998,
2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2013, 2015,
2017)
Guinea (1970, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1994,
1998, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2015)
Ivory Coast (1965, 1968, 1970, 1974,
1980,
1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994,
1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008,
2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Angola (1996, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010,
2012, 2013)
Mauritania (debut)
Tunisia (1962, 1963, 1965, 1978, 1982,
1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004,
2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015,
2017)
Egypt (1957, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1970,
1974, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988,
1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000,
2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2017)
Guinea-Bissau (2017)
Namibia (1998, 2008)
Uganda (1962, 1968, 1974, 1976, 1978,
2017)
Tanzania (1980)
*Previous appearances in brackets)