In a quest to make back to back WAFCON appearances, Uganda Senior Women’s National Team, Crested Cranes, had to overcome Algeria in a two legged affair to progress to the next round.
However Uganda’s hopes of facing either Burundi or Ethiopia in the next round hit a rock on Wednesday as Algeria condemned the Crested Cranes to a 2-1 defeat at the FUFA technical Center in Njeru.
Two second half goals from Imane Chabel and Habiba Karchouni were enough to seal a satisfying away win despite a late spell of pressure from Uganda that resulted into a penalty after Aminah Nababi was brought down in the area.
Fauzia Najjemba stepped up and sloted the ball home from 12 yards in the 87th minute to hand the Crested Cranes a lifeline to take to Algeria.
Questionable tactics and team selection
On the evening where the interim Assistant Head Coach Ayub Khalifah Kiyingi started Vanessa Edith Karungi in goal, I for one felt that the team selection could have been better.
For large parts of the first half we lacked creativity yet we had Phionah Nabumba playing as a right back.
Her dynamic athleticism and composure on the ball didn’t help us a lot at right back when we needed that and more in the midfield.
Hassifah Nassuna looked off from the on set and was at fault for the second goal after losing possession early on in the second half.
Against a team that’s calmer, stronger and more elegant than us, we had to be close to perfect to beat them especially tactically.
We couldn’t dominate the middle and also lost concentration in the second half conceding from a corner whenShadia Nankya miss timed her header, and a worldie from Habiba Karchouni, all in a space of 5 minutes.
Algeria who are ranked 10th in Africa compared to 32nd placed Uganda are looking to make their 6th appearance at the WAFCON while the Crested Cranes are looking to make their 3rd appearance to the African showpiece.
The second leg of the tie will be played in Oran, Algeria on September 26, 2023. The winner of the tie will face either Burundi or Ethiopia in the second round.
