Cranes ease past Malawi
Emmanuel Okwi opened the scores in 29th minute and Fahad Bayo sealed it with a second goal in the 66th minute to propel Uganda Cranes on top of the group in the opening 2021 Afcon home qualifier against Malawi at Mandela National Stadium Sunday evening.
Emmanuel Okwi and Fahad Bayo scored as the Uganda Cranes recorded a 2-0 home win over Malawi in their first home game of the 2021 Afcon Qualifiers.
Okwi gave the Cranes a 29th minute lead after running onto a Joseph Ochaya lofted pass.
He then showed tremendous composure in taking the ball down and picking his spot with a confident finish.
The goal arrived at a time when the Cranes were in the ascendancy with Mike Azira running the show in midfield while Okwi, Faruku Miya and Nicholas Wadada created openings on the right flank.
The latter however failed to deliver accurate deliveries with the Cranes going Intl the break with just a 1-0 lead after the lively Miya struck the post when through in goal late in the half.
The game while not exactly free flowing followed a similar trajectory in the second half with Malawi creating few clearcut openings save for a Gabadinho Mhango effort that was saved by Captain Denis Onyango.
Fahad Bayo then doubled Cranes advantage after overpowering Lucky Malata to finish emphatically.
The win moved the Cranes joint top of Group B with four points alongside Burkina Faso who were also identical 2-0 winners over South Sudan.
Uganda opened their qualification campaign with a goalless draw against the Burkinabes while Malawi beat South Sudan
essenono@ug. nationmedia. com
