The wisdom of Uganda Cranes taking on such an exacting assignment as facing a ruthless fellow Afcon 2017-bound Tunisia in their own El Menzah Olympic Stadium was left open to question by a defeat and display that will quickly fade from the memory, going by Fufa FM commentator Joseph Mutaka’s on-air interpretation.
Coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic wanted to learn about his players but all he will have been made aware of is how arduous they can find it against top-tier opponents.
A blistering free kick from Hamza Lahmar in the 7th minute made Tunisia consecutive team – after Zambia – that Micho’s team has lost to in the recent friendlies he has taken on, won’t be left too wounded by a defeat to a country Uganda have never beaten in all outings.
The comfort to be drawn from being utterly outplayed by Henryk Kasperczak’s Arab side is that the margin of defeat did not reflect their opponents’ superiority in every aspect. There is often a worrying pre-match pattern to Uganda’s square ups against the games grandees. We are told how they aren’t at all what they were once, with the claim backed up by poor recent form and the absence of some stellar names. The attendant worry about such opposition downgrading is that it can so often be a precursor to them rediscovering their mojo at Uganda’s expense.
It certainly felt that way in an entirely one-sided first half in Tunis. A period in which a Tunisian side that was a class apart, harried and hemme -in Micho’s side and had a hat full of near things.
Uganda, meanwhile, did have one but a few shots on or off target. It felt like they had less than even that as the Tunisians played with the purpose that might be expected of a team tuning up for a major finals that are less than a fortnight away.
Micho had talked up the freshmen within his group and his desire to give them international experience but it was no surprise that there was only one young debutant in his starting line-up in the form of Shafik Batambuze. The 22-year-old Nairobi based left-back was withdrawn just into the second half but that was probably down to the fact he was struggling with his markers. He was no more exposed than any other member of a backline that creaked throughout.
The fact that Uganda could not convert any first or second-half opportunities provided an indication why little is being made of their prospects in Afcon 2017 that has sees them in a devilishly awkward group alongside Egypt, Ghana and the Mali.
Not that this was all down to their wastefulness. The only stirring impression made by any Ugandan player came with a brilliant Tonny Mawejje effort in the 30th minute from over 35 yards that hit the woodwork and later in the half Muzamiru Mutyaba, a second half substitute headed onto the cross bar from fellow substitute, Faruku Miya. Sudan based goalkeeper Jamal Salim who was later to be replaced by locally based Benjamin Ochan showed cat-like reflexes to beat the balls away low to his right when the other goal scorer of the evening Mohamed Ali Yâakoubi took several close-range strikes.
The only oasis in a desert of a performance was a sequence of more than 15 passes from Uganda in the tenth minute. Even then, it sounds better than it was in reality for there was little purpose within the possession. Otherwise, midfielder sitters Tonny Mawejje and Hassan Wasswa could get no foothold in the contest.
In fairness, Uganda vainly stuck at their tasks on a difficult evening but there never seemed any likelihood that they would emerge unscathed and the inevitable fatal damage came in either halves from Lahmar and Ali Yâakoubi.
With the feeling of job not done for the Cranes, Micho made a raft of substitutions with Benjamin Ochan replacing Salim Jamal, Gor Mahia’s Godfrey Walusimbi coming on for Tusker defender Shafik Batambuze, KCCA’s creative wiz Muzamiru Mutyaba replacing tired Iceland based Tonny Mawejje, youngster Timothy Denis Awany in for clubless Isaac Isinde, Uganda league MVP Muhammad Shaban taking Yunus Sentamu’s place and Standard Liege’s Faruku Miya stepping in for Proline striker Edrisa Lubega.
On Thursday, the Cranes will, travel to Dubai where they face Slovakia on January 8 and African champions Ivory Coast three days later before the final journey to Port Gentil in Gabon.
Uganda XI: Salim Jamal, Denis Iguma, Shafik Batambuze, Hassan Wasswa Mawanda, Isaac Isinde, Geofrey Kizito, Tonny Mawejje, Mike Azira, Geofrey Massa, Yunus Sentamu, Edrisa Lubega
Tunisia XI: Balbouli, Mathlouthi, Ben Youssef, Yaakoubi, Maaloul, Azouni, Sassi, Hamza Lahmar, Sliti, Msakni, Khenissi
