By Denis Turyahebwa
The Uganda cranes captain’s professional clubs and South African Giant Mamelodi Sundowns cruised 5-1 past the Algerian club CR Belouizdad in CAF Champions League on Sunday.
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Onyango dealt well with crosses that were played in his area and he pulled off a great save to deny Rayane Hais Benderrouya before he conceded.
He was beaten by Amir Sayoud after the Sundowns defence was exposed and he was replaced by Kennedy Mweene at half-time after picking up an injury.
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Meanwhile, Themba Zwane scored twice as Sundowns took advantage of Algerian opponents CR Belouizdad having Chouaib Keddad sent off after only three minutes to win 5-1 in Dar es Salaam.
Slack defending contributed to chiefs crashing 4-0 against Moroccan giants Wydad Casablanca in Ouagadougou and they finished with 10 men after Ramahlwe Mphahlele was red-carded.
The home matches of Belouizdad and Wydad were played in Tanzania and Burkina Faso respectively because Moroccan and Algerian coronavirus regulations forbid entry to South Africans.
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Victory for Sundowns lifted them to six points in Group B after two matchdays, four more than five-time African champions TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Al Hilal of Sudan and Belouizdad, who conceded only once in five previous Champions League matches this season, share third place with one point each.
Wydad, who have been champions, runners-up, and semi-finalists twice in the past five seasons, top Group C with six points, followed by Horoya of Guinea with four.
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Chiefs, who have reached the group stage for the first time after five failed attempts, have one point and Petro Luanda of Angola none.
On thereother hand however, the Uganda Hippos are set to play against Tunisia on Monday 1st March 2021 in the Semi-finals of AFCON U-20 at the Stade Olympique in Nouakchott.
The Hippos players had a successful final training session at the Stade Cheikha Boidiya in Nouakchott on Sunday and Head coach Byekwaso is confident the team will reach the finals of the tournament.
Addressing the players via zoom, FUFA President Engineer Moses Magogo commended the Hippos for representing Uganda and encouraged them to enjoy the moment for 90 minutes while facing off with Tunisia.
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“Every match you play adds value to the players. You squeezed a win against Burkina Faso but those are sights of great teams,” said Magogo.
Uganda Hippos reached the semifinals of the tournament on their debut appearance in Mauritania where they were in group A with the hosts, Cameroon and Mozambique.
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The Hippos triumphed passed past Burkina Faso beating the West Africans 5-3 on penalty shootouts after a goalless draw in the 90 minutes and also extra time.
In another semi-final, Ghana will face off with Gambia at the same ground which will be the first game of the stage. Ghana overcame Cameroon also in penalties while Gambia thumped the Central African Republic 3-0 to book a spot in the Semi-finals.
