Uganda wary of long shots Zanzibar in Cecafa semi

Uganda wary of long shots Zanzibar in Cecafa semi

Zanzibar will have everything to play for when they take on Uganda in Friday’s Cecafa semi-finals at the Moi Stadium in Kisumu.

On paper, the record holders Uganda are odds on to sail through to the finals but Zanzibar will be spurred by their thirst to end a 22-year title drought in the regional Cup competition.

Uganda head coach Moses Basena says the Cranes, who won the previous edition held in Ethiopia in 2015, will settle for nothing but yet another crown that will take their record to a staggering 15.

He however acknowledged Zanzibar is in formidable form and are capable of pulling a major surprise on teams in the highest pecking order of the competition history.

“The perception that Zanzibar are underdogs in this tournament is deceiving and may have cost some teams in the group stage.

“We know we are preparing for a semi final match; one which we have to take seriously. They (Zanzibar) showed their worth in the group matches and I will leave nothing to chance when we face them,” Basena said.

The Ugandans have not been at their best, winning only against South Sudan (5-1) in Group A but drawing against Ethiopia and Burundi.

They managed a goal in the Ethiopia draw, but laboured to a barren stalemate against Burundi.

Thus, Zanzibar, who rested six of their first team players in their group closure against Kenya can draw encouragement from the results.

Basena will miss the services of influential defender Isaac Muleme who was red carded in their match with Ethiopia while Zanzibar coach Suleiman Hemed ‘Morocco’ has his entire squad available for selection.

“We are ready for it. We are happy because reaching the semis is a confirmation we have something to show. We were written off by many before the start of the competition but we have proved we are worthy competitors.

“I have said before I want to win all matches, but if God gives us a different one, you don’t blame your competitors or yourself. You live to fight another day. We will give our best, knowing Uganda’s weight in Cecafa,” Morocco offered.

On their way to the semis, Zanzibar beat Rwanda and Tanzania (3-1 and 2-1) respectively, before settling for a 0-0 draw with Kenya’s Harambee Stars and eventually lost 1-0 to eliminated Libya.

Mudathir Yahya, who has been a pivot in the teams’ performance so far, expressed his confidence ahead of the match insisting the team has got what it takes to knockout Uganda.

“We are enjoying our football and playing according to how the coach wants us to approach the game.

“We are encouraged by the fact that we have not been so privileged in terms of preparations like other teams but we are flourishing,” he said.

Morocco is expected to field all of his first team players again with the winner poised to meet Kenya in Sunday’s final.

Stars head coach Paul Put, who oversaw his team’s 1-0 win over Burundi in extra time, says none of the other semi-finalists is ‘weaker’ and either will be a worthy opponent in the final.

The losing team on Friday will face Burundi in the third place play-off on Sunday.

Tags:

Harambee Stars uganda CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup Zanzibar Cecafa Cup Paul Put Moses Basena

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