Micho secures maximum points against Amavubi

World Cup Qatar 22

Result

Uganda 1-0 Rwanda

Milutin Sredojević Micho got the better of his former side by defeating them in the two legged World Cup qualifier.

With Rwanda and Kenya looking completely out of the equation, Uganda will need a point to get the job done. However, Micho’s Cranes have been difficult to watch in this campaign. Thanks to Fahad Bayo’s two goals against Rwanda.

Forgive him for the away fixture, where he needed to secure a result. In that fixture he had Khalid Awucho, Bobosi Byaruhanga and Tadeo Lwanga occupying our own half for most of the game. Isaac Muleme is a defensive left back and he was played on the left side of the midfield.

The Cranes under the Serbian and his assistant Moses Basena have struggled to build up passes thus failing to control the game. In Kampala, Micho still went for the defensive approach. Awucho did not return for the game at St. Mary’s Kitende but Lwanga and Bobosi were joined by Steven Mukwala who still were in their own half for the better part of the game.

With Moses Waiswa in the side, the Cranes team played under immense pressure and most of the times the players cleared long balls away from their half. The team’s chances were so limited thanks to Bayo who was always at the right position to tap away or head into the net.

Like the Kampala, there was only one clear cut chance in the second half which saw Mukwala put through but had his left foot shot hit the side netting. Yunus Ssentamu’s set piece attempt was very close with the Rwanda goalkeeper Emery Mvuyekure beaten.

Rwanda’s midfield in the teo-legged affair had a better game and were only let down by the Meddie Kagere led attack. Swedish based Rafael York and Yannick Mukunzi had were all over the place, connecting passes together and their forwards. They played as a team but were only short in the final part of the field since the better part of Uganda’s team was behind the ball.

Micho and his assistants will be lucky they did not have fans on the pitch thanks to Covid-19. There were no clear patterns on the pitch. Waiswa, Mukwala and Fahad Bayo who were the forwards in the two games, clearly appeared clueless. Mukwala and Waiswa were doing more of defensive duties than playing their roles of adding numbers to the forward area.

Can we play like this against Egypt, Senegal, Morocco and Ivory Coast and get away with it? It is the next stage for Micho and his team. But can the team play and dominate games games? Frenchman Sebastien Desabire had his team play play to its abilities and saw it go beyond round one which had Egypt, DR Congo and Zimbabwe. Micho seems to be all about grinding results. It is not enough to simply want to get there. We can not win the tournament playing like the way we did against Rwanda.

Micho should be told it is no longer about just getting the team there. The 1978 team set the standards and if he ever wants his team to join those legends then he ought to play better than what we have been treated to.

Cranes Team

Charles Lukwago, Denis Iguma, Enock Walusimbi, Timothy Awany, Azizi Kayondo, Isaac Muleme, Bobosi Byaruhanga, Tadeo Lwanga, Moses Waiswa, Steven Mukwala, Fahad Bayo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LolsiWeJtQw