A brace from Robert Ssentongo and a super strike from Emmanuel Okwi was all Uganda Cranes needed to overcome Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro stars in the semi-finals of the 2012 Cecafa Tusker Cup in a match played at Namboole stadium on Thursday evening.
The Cranes started the game on a high and broke the dead lock as early as the 7th minute through striker Emmanuel Okwi. The Simba SC striker’s fierce shot in the six yard area after a beautiful through ball from Denis Guma found the back of the net to send the Cranes fans into rapture.
In the 18th minute, Uganda narrowly survived after Shomari Kapombe’s header following Mwinyi Kazimoto’s corner.
In the 26th minute, Robert Ssentongo should have extended Uganda’s lead but his shot inside the area was well saved by Juma Kasejja.
From then on, Tanzania dominated in search for an equaliser but Cranes stood still and held on to their lead till the half time whistle.
In the second half, Uganda Cranes attacked from the start and dominated possession and kept knocking on the door till the 53rd minute when Robert Ssentongo extended their lead with a cool tap in finish following Godfrey Walusimbi’s low cross on the left.
The URA FC forward got his second and third goal for Uganda Cranes in the 73rd minute after tapping in from close range after Tanzania’s custodian Juma Kasejja parried Moses Oloya’s ball from a free kick into his path.
The goal was his fourth of the campaign after netting against South Sudan and Ethiopia and now 3rd on the CECAFA 2012 Top Scorers’ chart.
The game had to be stopped in the 85th minute after lights at Namboole dimmed out. After restart, Uganda held on to their lead to win the game 3-0. Uganda’s win sets up a repeat of 2008 final as they meet Kenya which eliminated Zanzibar 4-2 on post match penalties.
