By Robert Kayindi James
Once again it was the usual suspect Farouk Miya in the spotlight at Namboole stadium as Uganda thrashed Togo 3-0 on Sunday to qualify for the group stages of the World Cup Qualifiers on a 4-0 aggregate.
Uganda Cranes skipper and Bloemfontein Celtic’s striker Geoffrey Massa opened the scoring as early as the fourth minute having received an aerial ball from anchor-man Tonny Mawejje which he comfortably controlled before making a quick turn to send a thunder shot past Togolese custodian Djehani Nguissan to hit the back of the net.
With just five minutes to half-time, Under-23 Captain Farouk Miya doubled the lead for the Cranes before netting his second of the afternoon just four minutes later making it 3-0.
In the second half, the home side continued to dominate the game with first-half substitute Baba Kizito (replaced Khalid Aucho who sustained a knock) hitting the crossbar with a shot from the edge of the box before Mawejje missed another opportunity when he headed Guma’s cross over the bar.
Meanwhile, Farouk Miya was also the goal scorer during the Cranes’ away trip to Lome and more notably guided Uganda as skipper to the 2016 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) finals when he scored in back-to-back fixtures against Sudan. The Chan finals will be played in Rwanda in mid-January next year. The youngster now has 12 goals to his name in his international career.
The result put Uganda among the 20 African countries that will compete for the five slots at the World Cup finals that will be played in Russia come 2018.
Cranes Starting XI vs Togo: Dennis Onyango, Dennis Guma, Joseph Ochaya, Murushid Juuko, Isaac Isinde, Khalid Aucho (Baba Kizto), Tony Mawejje, Godfrey Walusimbi (Moses Oloya), Farouk Miya, Kizito Luwaga (Brain Umony), Geoffrey Massa. In brackets were the substitutes.
Email Robert: Robert.k.cirlces@gmail.com
