Hockey Cranes lose to Zimbabwe

Africa Hockey Olympics qualifiers

Results

Zimbabwe 2 Uganda 1

Wednesday

South Africa v Uganda

Uganda’s chances of making it to the semifinals of the Africa Hockey Olympics qualifiers are now slimmer than before after losing to Zimbabwe 2-1 on Monday evening.

The Hockey Cranes' loss at the Pretoria University High-Performance Centre made it clear that Uganda needs to step up their game in the last game of the group stages against a tough South African side.

The Cranes' forward Coline Batusa scored Uganda’s equaliser in the 25th minute after Zimbabwe opened the score tally with Kanyangarara Mutswahashe in the 24th minute.

Uganda managed to contain the game but in the 47th minute, Kamusewu  Tadiwanashe which sealed the game finally and  Zimbabwe got three sweet points.

The team captain Emmanuel Baguma attributes the loss to the bad weather that was never an experience for the Ugandan players.

“We have been affected by the temperatures which have affected our movement with the ball and execution of the game plan, but we promise to bounce back bigger and stronger,” Baguma noted.

Coline Batusa in action

Uganda however showed signs of resilience with an exceptional performance from midfielder Ashraf Tumwesigye who provided balls to the forwards to score with good scoops plus exquisite tackles on opponents in the middle of the pack.

Hockey Cranes tactician Innocent Raskara believes the one day of rest is going to effectively be used for making corrections and seeing that the team bounces back stronger. Against South Africa on Wednesday.