Uganda Cranes unbeaten run in the Afcon 2025 qualifiers came to an end with a 2-0 home defeat to South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
Substitutes Thapo Morena and Maswangayi scored for the 1996 champions to silence the home crowd at Namboole with the visitors also assuming top position in Group K with 11 points.
Ismael Kiyonga rates the players from the Mandela National stadium, Namboole.
Ismail Watenga 5.0: Couldn’t really be faulted for the goals but his kicking was poor and looked shaky from crosses.
Kenneth Ssemakula 4.0: Couldn’t really handle the pace and trickery of Apollis and offered nothing going forward.
Aziz Kayondo 4.0: Struggled to deal with the running of full back Khuliso Mudau and later Thapo Morena. And unlike in previous matches, his forward play was limited.
Timothy Awany 5.0: Came off at halftime for Awany perhaps through injury but had until then battled Makgopa well.
Bevis Mugabi 5.0: Never looked confident with the ball at his feet and couldn’t deal with South Africa running in behind.
Khalid Aucho 4.0: Too cumbersome in possession and couldn’t match South Africa’s intensity especially in the second half when they engaged second gear.
Taddeo Lwanga 3.0: Caught in possession as he hesitated to play simple and that resulted into the opening goal. Until then, he had tried to match the dominant Bafana Bafana midfield
Allan Okello 5.0: Some neat touches but beaten for physique in physical battles. Looked the closest to creating a special moment before he was replaced by Travis Mutyaba.
Denis Omedi 3.0: Struggled against the physically imposing Mvala
Jude Ssemugabi 4.0: Struggled to break Modiba’s resistance but should have equalised moments after Bafana Bafana opener following a mix up in defence but sent his effort agonisingly very wide of the goalposts.
Rogers Mato 2.0: Shocking that he played the whole game. Poor game overall and even from set pieces, he couldn’t trouble the opponents.
Substitutes
Halid Lwaliwa 5.0: Replaced Awany at halftime but failed to leave with a clean sheet.
Bobosi Byaruhanga 4.0: Failed to weigh his long-range passes after coming for injured Lwanga.
Steven Mukwala 4.0: One of the players destroyed by Morena down the right flank in the lead up to the second goal as he failed to create an impact off the bench.
Travis Mutyaba 5.0: Tried to create problems for the Bafana Bafana when he came on and won two free kicks in decent positions.
Hakim Kiwanuka 3.0: An Afcon qualifiers debut to forget as he failed to get past his man often and also missed a good chance for a leveller with a miscued attempt.
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