Uganda champions, KCCA will face Sudanese giants El Merreikh in the semi-final of the 2014 CECAFA- Kagame Cup tournament underway in Kigali-Rwanda.
The Ugandans side thrashed hapless Atlabara of South sudan 3-1 in the quarter-final match on Wednesday whilst Merreikh secured their semi-final spot by defeating Tanzania’s Azam 4-3 on penalties.
It was the only quarter final game of the tournament whose winner was decided in the normal 90 minutes after remaining the three quarter final matches needed spot kicks to determine the eventual winner.
KCCA dominated the proceedings as Atlabara came second best in all departments. The Ugandans under the technical guidance of George ‘Best’ Nsimbe’s needed three minutes to notch the opening goal when Brian Majwega pounced on Brian Umony’s neat pass to score past goalie Mpenzi Jecko.
Umony scored the second goal for KCCA in the 31st minute when he curled a dazzling free kick past the defense wall following Majwega’s foul at the edge of the box.
At the death of half time, an effort from Tom Masiko would have made it 3-0 but his shot went wide as Atlabara lost possession of the ball.
The Lugogo-based outfit scored the third goal in the 74th minute courtesy of Hakim Ssenkumba who put to use a neat cross off Umony’s effort to snatch his maiden goal of the tournament.
Atlabara who were making their maiden debut in the tournament, secured the consolation goal through a penalty with three minutes to go from substitute Paul Oliver following Habib Kavuma’s tackle on Kujbor Dak.
Earlier, Merreikh and Azam settled for a goalless draw with both sides wasting many goal attempts. Azam were to blame for the exit as they failed to utilize many goal scoring chances they got compared to the Sudanese outfit.
Kipre Herman Tche Tche, Leonel Saint Preux and Bolou Wilfred Michael were all at fault as they all failed to bury their opportunities past El Merreikh goalie Magoola Salim Omar.
Merreikh also wasted many chances courtesy of Malian striker Traore Mohamed, Elbasha Ahmed and Bakhiet Khamis Mohamed as they took control of the second half but still the final whistle was blown with both team tied on a goalless draw forcing the winner to be decided on penalties.
In the shootout, Ayman Said Mohammed, Al Gafer Hussein, Allan Wanga and Magdi Abdelatif scored for Merreikh as Elbasha Khamis Mohamed missed his spot kick while Lionel Saint Preux and Shomari Kapombe failed to emulate Erasto Nyoni, Didier Kavumbagu and Aggrey Morris who clinically converted their spot kicks to bow out of the tournament despite being considered potential contenders.
KCCA and Merreikh will now face-off in Friday’s semi-final at the Kigali Regional Stadium in a repeat of the 2014 CAF Champions League preliminary round clash, where KCCA triumphed 3-2 on aggregates.
Wednesday’s Results
El Merreikh 0-0 Azam
*El Merreikh wins 4-3 on penalties
KCCA 3-1 Atlabara
Friday semi-finals
APR vs. Police
KCCA vs. El Merreikh
Confederation of African Football (CAF) News
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