Goal hero Mato Rogers | credit Nicholas Bamulanzeki
Rogers Mato late restored Uganda Cranes’ hopes after overcoming Tanzania in the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification campaign at the Benjamin Mkapa National stadium on Tuesday.
The super substitute Mato came off the bench with an eye for a goal and made Farouk Miya’s defense splitting pass count as the game was seemingly destined for a barren stalemate.
The KCCA FC and Lango province forward raced onto a through pass from Miya before squeezing the ball beyond the fingertips of goalkeeper Aishi Manula on the 91st minute mark.
The late winner was a perfect revenge for Uganda Cranes who lost the first leg home tie to the Taifa Stars with the same score-line in the first leg played on neutral ground in Ismailia – Egypt last week on Friday.
The win away from home might reignite Uganda’s hopes to qualify for AFCON due next year in Ivory Coast. The Cranes are now joint second, level on four points and similar goal difference with Tanzania in Group F.
Algeria has already booked a ticket to AFCON with maximum points (12) after winning all their four outings with two more to go while Niger has two points on the bottom.
Uganda Cranes will now fancy their chances of upsetting Algeria and Niger in the final two qualification duels to finish among the top two in the group and advance.
