A late strike by Geofrey Sserunkuma ensured
Uganda and Zimbabwe played to a 1-1 draw
during their play in CHAN Group D encounter today evening at Umuganda Stadium.
The Cranes of Uganda started the match like a
house on fire, exchanging good passes, but their
decision making in the final third was poor.
As both sides chased their first wins in the
tournament, Ugandan goalkeeper Alitho James
was forced to come out of his poles in the 15th
minute and clear the danger as the Warriors
came knocking for an opener.
After 20 minutes of action, Edmore Chirambadare
showed his quality down the left flank but
Roderick Mutuma’s shot was off target, however,
the offside flag was already up.
A minute later, Kizito Keziron took a shot but it
went off the target following a good exchange of
passes by Milutin Sredojevic’s men.
However, with 10 minutes to go, Mkuruva
produced a fine save to deny Faruk Miya after a
fine header in the box, with the keeper tipping
the ball over for a corner.
On the stroke of half time, Mutuma failed to
connect with the ball and missed a sitter and
Calisto Pasuwa’s men failed to take the
advantage.
It was 0-0 at half time and upon their return from
the dressing room, the Warriors bagged a lead
through William Manondo in the 49th minute. He
received a through pass and used his pace to
beat his marker and unleashed a powerful shot
to beat James.
In the last 20 minutes, Zimbabwe failed to make
it two when goal scorer Manondo missed a sitter
as he was unmarked in the box and his shot
went wide.
With nine minutes remaining, James produced
another wonderful save to deny Manondo for a
brace in a one-on-one situation, the keeper stood
firm in front of the striker.
A scramble in the box in the last five minutes
saw James spilling the ball in front of Manondo
but the keeper was saved by his defence.
However, in injury time, Geofrey Sserunkuma
pulled one back for the Cranes with a fine header
and ensured both sides settled for a draw.