Cranes, warriors share the spoils

The Ugandan Cranes and Zimbabwe Warriors shared the spoils in this uneventful Group B Chan encounter following a goalless draw at Athlone Stadium on Thursday afternoon.

The match failed to live up to its pre-match billing as chances were far and few throughout the encounter.

It was the Cranes that threatened in the very first minute but Zimbabwe managed to clear the danger.
Ugandan defender, Richard Kassaga was then booked in the 5th minute for a foul on Simbarashe Sithole but the subsequent free kick from a very promising position flew over the bar as Zimbabwe failed to capitalise.

Zimbabwe’s Warriors had another great chance in the 20th minute but Ali Sadiki’s diving header went straight into hands of Benjamin Ochan.

It was Zimbabwe which dominated the opening half but very few chances were created by either side.

The creative Sadiki had another header going narrowly wide in the 35th minute as Zimbabwe maintained the attacking momentum.

Central striker Simbarashe Sithole watched in disbelief after his shot was pushed away for a corner by Ochan at the stroke of half-time as Zimbabwe continued to probe the Ugandan defence.

As frustration started to creep in on both sides, Julias Ntambi of Uganda found himself in the referee’s book in the 54th minute when he fouled Warriors’ Kudakwashe Mahachi as the match got bogged down with unstructured play.

Zimbabwe though still looked the team likely to score and within a space of a minute, the Warriors created two quick chances in the 62nd minute but on both occasions those opportunities went begging.

Sithole again missed a great chance to put his side in front when he mistimed his header with only the keeper to beat.

With few chances coming the way of either side, Donald Ngoma fluffed another open chance when he headed wide another clear-cut opportunity.

As the match faltered towards a tame draw, both teams threw bodies upfront but some poor finishing characterised this Group B encounter.

Confederation of African Football News