Uganda in hunt for goals at hockey Afcon in Ghana

Uganda’s national men’s hockey team go to their third, and first since 2000, Africa Cup this weekend. The January 17-23 showpiece in Accra has attracted eight men’s teams with Uganda pooled in Group B with hosts Ghana, Nigeria and Egypt. 

The last time Uganda took part in the Cup was 22 years ago in 2000, where they finished bottom of an a 7-team tournament.
Before that, the inaugural and last participation had come also come more than 20 years earlier in 1974. Fortunately, that five-team round-robin tourney ended with a podium finish behind winners Ghana and runners-up Kenya. After 2000, the only successful tournament the national team participated in was the Olympic qualifiers in 2007 in Nairobi.

Heavy punishment
Uganda conceded a whooping 60 goals in round-robin games against Kenya (5-0), Nigeria (7-0), Ghana (10-0), Egypt (18-0) and South Africa (20-0). When it came to the 5th place playoff, Thomas Opio remembers Patrick Yoacel scoring the lone goal for Uganda in a 7-1 defeat to Nigeria. Opio, 16 then, is the only man on that team that is still going hard to-date.

“The problem in 2007 is that we went straight from playing on murram in Lugogo to a competing at that level on a water-based pitch,” Opio told Daily Monitor.

“Everything, from stopping the ball, seemed new to us. But we now have a more exposed team of players,” he added.
Opio went to Nairobi then as a winger but spent the better part of his hockey life playing as a striker for various clubs after that. It is only in the recently concluded season that he was tasked to return to the wing as his club Wananchi tried to accommodate younger lesser experienced players.

Goal threats
In Ghana, he will play as a forward alongside Brian Bayuule, Maxwell Mugisha, Emmanuel Baguma and the versatile Alfred Agaba among others.  Apart from the goalkeepers and Martin Okello, who is mostly happy to just defend, the men’s team is full of players that coach Vincent Kasasa considers “goal threats” if Uganda can get their way going forward.

Even defenders like Peter Walusansa, Richard Ssemwogerere, Brian Okodi, Solomon Mutalya and Jordan Mpiima scored lots of goals, especially from penalty corners, among them during club competitions in 2021.

More poachers
Meanwhile, the women’s side coach Moses Nsereko is also confident that the goal getters in his side have increased.

During the FIH Series in Nairobi last March the women’s side under coach Sandra Namusoke, was heavily dependent on Doreen Mbabazi for goals and paid for it by not scoring in the three games they lost with a combined 22-0 score.

“I think the problem was that the preparation for the Series was not as extensive.

But during the league, we did enough scouting. We have worked with two other coaches; Francesco (Richichi) and Shaun (Laubscher) on their fitness, discipline and who to put where and how to play.

We also concentrated a lot on attacking, I am sure we will get the goals,” said Nsereko, who has beefed up the women’s attacking line with seven of the 10 new additions to the team that went to Nairobi. 

These are Jolly Alimo, Thuwaibah Kiggundu, Teopista Anyango, Joy Serunjogi, Pauline Korukundo plus sisters Norah Alum and Lucky Akello.

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