Africa-Press – Uganda. Ayub Khalifa will be proud that his U-18 women’s national team defence has passed two highly taxing tests in over a week.
The side held Kampala Queens, who are in Fufa Technical Centre – Njeru preparing for the Cecafa zone’s Caf Women’s Champions League Qualifiers – on Friday before flying out to Dar-es-Salaam Tanzania for the Cecafa U-18 Women’s Championship where they beat Ethiopia 1-0 on Tuesday.
Kampala Queens has the bulk of the senior national team and three players that could have been key in the U-18 squad so keeping them at bay was a huge psychological boost.
That showed in Tuesday’s encounter with Ethiopia. Both sides cancelled each other out in a battle for midfield supremacy in the first half.
Uganda counted on the familiarity of the Phionah Nabulime, Agnes Nabukenya and Krusum Namutebi triangle as they all play for Kawempe Muslim.
But Ethiopia regrouped and pinned them back more in the second half so much that Uganda resorted to counter attacking football. Khalifa made a 60th minute substitution withdrawing Shamusa Najjuma, who thrives more on combination play, for Allen Nassaazi, who flourishes on ghosting away from defenders.
Khalifa’s switch paid off seven minutes later when Nassazi received a long ball from much improved goalkeeper Sharon Kaidu then turned past Ethiopian captain Meseret Mamo Wolde to drive into the box and find the left bottom corner of Abeba Ajibo Afa’s goal.
Ethiopia continued to come at the Ugandans but Kaidu commanded her backline well. The last time she faced Ethiopia with the U-17 team in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, she struggled to deal with long balls. The Ethiopians had not forgotten and tried to shoot on sight at every opportunity but the goalkeeper stood steady.
Revelations
Right-back Sharifah Nakimera and central defender Desire Katisi Natooro also looked defensively sound and could be good solutions for the U-20 team when it embarks on its own World Cup Qualifiers in October.
“The match in itself was not easy because we had to defend well for long periods but we also had chances that we failed to put away,” Khalifa said in the aftermath.
“We will use our rest day (yesterday) to polish the attack and then play against another tough opponent in Zanzibar (today). It is a round-robin format so every team comes with the feeling that every match is a final,” he added.
Zanzibar are the only side yet to kick-start their tournament and they will find a more than warm Uganda that feel Tuesday’s win set them on a good course to win the tournament. Uganda will also hope that Ethiopia get a result off Tanzania on Thursday.
CECAFA U-18 WOMEN CHAMPIONSHIP
MATCH DAY ONE
Uganda 1-0 Ethiopia
Tanzania 3-0 Burundi
MATCH DAY TWO
THURSDAY, AZAM COMPLEX
Tanzania vs. Ethiopia, 3pm
Uganda vs. Zanzibar, 6pm
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