Uganda have defeated Djibouti 4-1 in the opening match of the TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) CECAFA qualifiers.
Isima Magala gave the Ugandan team the lead after only five minutes on Tuesday at the Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. After 23 minutes substitute Ishak Tahir leveled matters for the Djibouti team. Tahir made no mistake beating the Ugandan goalkeeper Adrian Isabirye.
The Ugandan team lef by captain Ricahrd Okello continued to attack in numbers, but failed to convert. At the stroke of halftime Genesis Ocen Odiya restored Ugandaβs lead.
In the second half Uganda returned with more purpose and pushed deep into the Djibouti half. Okello got his name on the score sheet for Uganda after 60 minutes, and Magala netted his second of the day to make it 4-1.
The Djibouti team tried to shoot from outside the box, but failed to find the target for more goals. The win sends Uganda top of Group B before they face Sudan in the last match of the prelimnary stage. Laryea Kingston, the Uganda coach said although they missed several scoring opportunities, it is good they managed to collect a win in the first match. βWe take every match as it comes and work hard to get a win,β added the coach.
His counterpart Abdirahman Ali Abubakar said his team had started well, but failed to defend better. The second match will see South Sudan face Burundi in a Group C, while hosts Tanzania face Rwanda in a Group A encounter.
Group B standing
P W D L GF GA GD Pts
Uganda 1 1 0 0 4 1 3 3
Sudan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Djibouti 1 0 0 1 1 4 -3 0
