Cranes in for a plucking
A tough but decisive assignment awaits the Zebras away this weekend as they travel to Kampala to face the Cranes at Nelson Mandela Stadium in the Ugandan capital in an AFCON 2017 Group D qualifier. Both sides want to start on the right foot by collecting three maximum points to be early pacesetters in their tricky group that includes the Comoros Islands and Burkina Faso.
However, the odds will be stacked high against the Zebras whose objective is to qualify for the 2017 biennial showpiece in Gabon. Zebras’ headcoach Peter Butler has made drastic changes to the squad that competed in the last AFCON qualifiers. The likes of Lemponye Tshireletso , Jerome Ramatlhakwane and Boitumelo Mafoko will be conspicuous by their absence while core members of the Cranes in their previous campaigns will also be missing, among others, Captain Andrew Mwesigwa, Daniel Sserunkuma and Emma Okwi as coach Milutin Sredojevic has injected new blood into his team.
Butler has promoted a lot of Under-23 players for this encounter after many of his players were given a fair run in the COSAFA Cup assignment that was recently held in South Africa where they were knocked out in the semi-finals. Over the past few years, the Cranes have developed stronger plumes under Micho, for the first time qualifying for the CHAN tournament where they soared to later confront Ghana, Guinea and Togo in the last AFCON qualifiers. The novices from Udzima wa Komori proved to be a force to reckon with when they drew 1-1 with Ghana’s Black Stars four days before thrashing Guinea 2-0 at Nelson Mandela Stadium.
All these sides were touted as the favorites against the Cranes only to be left licking their wounds, with Uganda eventually missing out on three points. It will not be the first time the Zebras face the Cranes - the last time being when Uganda won 3-1 in an international friendly in preparation for a clash with South Africa in a World Cup qualifier in Durban. But the Cranes are blessed to have Micho as headcoach; he is one of the Orlando Pirates fame who is highly respected on the African continent after also being at the helm of powerhouses like Ethopia’s St. George. There was also a time he was mentioned as a candidate to replace former Zebras’ coach Stanley Tshosane but ended up losing out on the job because of the BFA NEC that was divided on his appointment.
The epic clash on Saturday will have a bearing on the ambitions of Butler, who is mandated to take the Zebras to Gabon in 2017. On paper, the Cranes are better than Burkina Faso, being a highly tactical and physical side that has been compared to Senegal. They have players who have been on top of their game, one of them being Mamelodi Sundowns shot stopper Dennis Onyango who guided his side to a second spot finish and a Nedbank Cup triumph. Another is the bulky but lethal forward, Jefrey Massa. Other key members in the Udzima wa Komori squad feature in various clubs across Africa, especially Tanzania, while others do service in Greece.
However, despite the threat the Cranes frontline poses to the Zebras, glovesman Kabelo Dambe - who is the Numero Uno goal minder for Platinum Stars in South Africa - is not fazed. “Our aim is to qualify for 2017 AFCON,” Dambe says. “This game will gauge our seriousness in qualifying for the finals. The Cranes are hungrier than Burkina Faso, that’s for sure. But we have a good team. What we will need are our supporters. The coach needs them too.” The international experiences of Ofentse Nato, Mogakolodi Ngele and the captaincy of Joel Mogorosi should put this one in the bag in Kampala on Saturday.
