Swashbuckling Bafana Bafana put on a show as they waltzed past Uganda in mesmerizing fashion on a sweltering afternoon at the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala on Friday.
It was supposed to be the crowning moment for the home team after a satisfying Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, but coach Hugo Broos and his charges must have missed those pages on the script as they beat their hosts 2-0 during an enthralling 90 minutes of football.
Second half goals from super substitutes Thapelo Morena (49th minute) and Patrick Maswanganyi on the stroke of fulltime silenced the capacity 45 000-strong crowd, propelling the visitors to the top of Group K for the first time during the campaign.
Bafana Bafana and Uganda had already qualified for next year’s AFCON on Thursday after South Sudan beat Congo 3-2 in another Group K qualifier, but this detail did not deter Broos and his players from continuing to pursue the hosts as if this was the first match of the campaign. Broos said they would not take the foot off the pedal as they now turn their attention to Tuesday’s final AFCON qualifier against South Sudan in Cape Town.
“We came here to win, we came here to be first in the group, and we are now first in the group. We will try to also win the game against South Sudan on Tuesday, and stay at the top of the group,” he said.
Uganda coach Paul Put conceded that Morena’s goal knocked the wind out of his team, and they never recovered after that 49th minute strike. The straight-talking coach said his team would need to recover very quickly and erase the disappointment when they face Congo Brazzaville on Tuesday. “We have three days and then we face Congo, so I hope that we can give our people a good result because I am really ashamed of this performance today.”
As Bafana Bafana prepare to return home today, they are perched at the of Group K with 11 points, and long-time leaders Uganda have dropped to second place and one point behind.
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