By Spy Ugandan
Uganda stands tall in this year’s Cecafa U20 Women’s Championship after defeating Tanzania 1-0 at Fufa Technical Centre stadium, Njeru on Saturday – making it four wins in four.
Uganda’s lone goal was scored through a penalty by team captain Fauzia Najjemba in the 73rd minute. With the current result, Uganda maintains the first position of the tournament’s table standings, followed by fellow title contender, Ethiopia.
Uganda will now faceoff with Ethiopia in the title decisive game on Tuesday this week. Uganda’s head coach, Ayub Khalifa says that Tanzania was equally a competitive team, but the girls mastered their tactical kind of play; minimized fouls committed against their opponents, which enabled them to earn the three points of the game.
Khalifa adds that the two-days break will enable them to conduct fully packed recovery training ahead of their final game.
Meanwhile, Tanzania’s head coach, Bakari Shime says that his team has received exposure to quality football from the different participating countries and the girls have acquired a sense of maturity in the game of football.
Shime adds that the lessons and skills learned from the Cecafa tourney will aid the girls to perform better during their forthcoming World Cup qualifier games against Burundi. Meanwhile, Ethiopia defeated Burundi with 1-0, whereas Eritrea beat Djibouti with 2-0.
Inside Ethiopia-Uganda’s Tuesday Battle
The two teams will face in the final game of the tournament with Uganda needing just a point to claim the title while Ethiopia on the other hand must win.
It should be noted that the Championship is played on a round robin format. Uganda has a superior goal difference of 20 goals compared to Ethiopia’s 14.
Matchday five will have Burundi facing Eritrea, Djibouti playing against Tanzania while Uganda will be up against Ethiopia.
