Uganda Lacrosse men national team withstood Kenya 9-8 in triple overtime down in Nairobi to book a slot at the 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship.
The two East African countries faced off in the first-ever Africa Association of Lacrosse qualifier for the last spot at the games to take place next summer in San Diego.
The triple-overtime golden goal completed a stunning comeback for Uganda on Kenya’s home soil in front of an intimidating crowd.
“Kenya was on top from start, they had a big crowd behind them and none of us had ever played in such an environment,” one of the senior players Douglas Nyakana Amooti told Nnalubaale Sports.
Inside the third quarter, Kenya had a 6-2 lead but Uganda pushed their opportunities to cut the deficit to 7-5 entering the fourth quarter.
Uganda fired first in the final round but Kenya took an 8-6 lead to reinvigorate the crowd. With less than three minutes left on the clock, Uganda scored to trail by a goal and tied the game with seconds to full time.
Two nerve-filled scoreless overtime periods with Uganda seeing a goal disallowed gave birth to a third one and the Pearl of Africa side finally broke the deadlock and claimed a 9-8 win.
The win means that Uganda will appear in its third consecutive men’s World Championship in San Diego.
MIND GAMES AT PLAY
Kenya were seeking their maiden global appearance and made life hard for Uganda in a winner takes it all game.
Having home advantage, Kenya chose an artificial turf and dictated which boots are fit to walk onto the pitch.
“We were given only an hour to train on the game pitch but this was after us refusing to train on a dusty pitch,” another seasoned player Liberty Twesiime noted adding.
“We had moved with normal boots with studs but we had to use old runners which had no proper grip hence affecting our stamina.”
The other ugly move was in Kenya employing Ugandans on their technical team who previously had been training and recording videos of team Uganda while training.
Dorothy Nakato (former national team player and now coach), Isaac Kirinya and Hillary Kimbugwe aided Kenya who successfully collapsed Uganda moves.
When Nnalubaale Sports visited the team’s training venue at Kyambogo University, Nakato was capturing drills with a digital camera.
Courtesy photos
