Egypt 2, Uganda 1
Fabian Kizito Derrick kept a keen eye on the ball and made brilliant movements on the pitch till his efforts yielded results for Uganda in the 35 minute. He moved faster to intercept a short back pass defender Hossam Ghaly made for goalie, Essam Elhaddry within the goal area and left the Egyptian elderly goalkeeper crawling as he sent the ball in the far left corner of the net.
Elhaddry’s turn ended immediately after this score as he complained of a waist injury and got substituted by Ahamed El Shenawy. Kizito was making his first appearance on the Cranes squad and his performance got described by head Coach Bobby Williamson as ‘an impressive start’. His score becomes the first goal the Pharaohs conceded in a stretch of about five months. Egypt who had earlier played Niger, Congo and Kenya without conceding a goal last had a ball behind their net way back in November 2011 against Brazil.
“I am happy that my first time on the Cranes final squad, I have scored. This will encourage me to do better if I am another chance in the future” said a soft spoken Kizito. He added, “I still have a challenge to learn my teammates and for them to get used to my movements. It was painful that we lost that game”. Kizito further revealed that he played with some pain in the back which partly affected him.
The first half ended 1-0 in favour of Uganda with Israel Emuge, Saka Mpima, Edward Ssali and Captain Godfrey Walusimbi doing the donkey work in frustrating the speedy movements by the hosts. In the 55 minute, the Egyptian coach made three well calculated substitutes one after the other that saw Ahamed Temsah’s first touch earning them an equalizer. The Ugandan local based players held Egypt to a 1-all draw until one minute to the end of the game when team captain Mohamed Adoll netted a winner that left goalie Yasin Mugabi well beaten. Mugabi had replaced Hamza Muwonge in the 86 minute.
FUFA President Lawrence Mulindwa said the game was a great opportunity for the home based players and pledged more friendly matches before June. The team touched Entebbe International Airport safely Friday afternoon.
