KCCA have become Uganda’s first team to qualify for the group stage of the premier continental club championship.
Mike Mutebi’s team qualified after a 1-0 win over Ethiopia’s Saint George in their 1/16th round second leg on Saturday in Kampala. The hosts qualified on a 1-0 goal aggregate after a goalless draw away in Addis Ababa last week.
Striker Shaban Muhammad scored the lone goal after 46 minutes with a well taken header. He jumped and nodded Musatafa Kizza’s cross to send the fans cheering.
The game started with lots of tension and defensive awareness with the two teams creating few scoring chances. But the hosts got off the blocks faster to take the lead catching the Ethiopians defenders slower in movement.
Just after recess, Muhammad who was also top scorer at the 2017 COSAFA U-20 Championship in Zambia soared and headed past Robert Odongkara for what turned out to be the only goal.
The visitors tried to fight back but failed to break the KCCA backline. Behailu Assefa and Abubekar Sani Abdela had their shots saved by KCCA goalkeeper Charles Lukwago.
Match winner Muhammad in a post-match interview couldn’t hide his joy: “It is a nice day to be part of this club and I look forward to the group stage”.
“This is a sweet win because we have qualified for the group stage. Last year, we made it to the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup and now we are a step better,” KCCA coach Mutebi said.
On his part, Saint George trainer Manuel Vas Pinto, expressed disappointment after his team blaming his team’s inability to convert the chances that came their way.
“We should have scored here, but my players wasted the chances,” said a bitter Pinto.
Fixtures
Saturday, 17 March 2018
KCCA (Uganda) 1-0 Saint George (Ethiopia) (0-0)
Mbabane Swallows (Swaziland) 1-0 Zanaco (Zambia) (2-1)
Williamsville (Cote d’Ivoire) vs Wydad (Morocco) (2-7)
CF Mounana (Gabon) 1-3 Al Ahly (Egypt) (0-4)
MC Alger (Algeria) vs MFM (Nigeria) (1-2)
Generation Foot (Senegal) vs Horoya (Guinea) (1-2)
Township Rollers (Botswana) vs Young Africans (Tanzania) (2-1)
UD Songo (Mozambique) 3-0 TP Mazembe (DR Congo) (0-4)
Bidvest (South Africa) 1-0 (2-3pen) Primeiro de Agosto (Angola) (0-1)
Sunday, 18 March 2018
ES Setif (Algeria) vs Aduana (Ghana) (1-0)
Esperance (Tunisia) vs Gor Mahia (Kenya) (0-0)
Plateau United (Nigeria) vs Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia) (2-4)
El Hilal (Sudan) vs AS Togo (Togo) (0-2)
ASEC Mimosas (Cote d’Ivoire) vs Zesco (Zambia) (1-0)
AS Vita (DR Congo) vs Difaa El Jadidi (Morocco) (0-1)
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) vs Rayon Sport (Rwanda) (0-0)
Source: www.cafonline.com
