Brian Majwega and Geoffrey Massa scored two second half goals as Uganda beat Mauritania 2-0 in the first leg of the 2015 Nations Cup pre-qualifier at Namboole on Saturday.
The result leaves the Cranes in a healthy situation going into the return leg in a fortnight while for Mauritania; they must score three times without reply to progress to the group stage of qualification to Morocco.
The Cranes started poorly without any industry through the middle to striking while Mauritania were initially calm for a team visiting a stadium Uganda have not lost at in 10 years.
Apart from the little-troubled Dennis Onyango in goal, there was hardly anything the midfield trio of Geoffrey ‘Baba’ Kizito, Miya Farouq, and Moses Oloya offered going forward in the first half.
Massa did put in a few good crosses for Uganda but striker Brian Umony, when better placed, put his two efforts wide.
Micho Sredojevic, the Cranes coach, needed something from somewhere; anywhere. The Serb made a half time change by introducing Brian Majwega for Kizito Luwagga.
Three minutes into second half and Majwega was celebrating; benefitting from Denis Guma’s low cross, which a Mauritania defender failed to clear, to hand Uganda a 48th minute lead.
The Cranes continued attacking with the home crowd backing them on. With 20 minutes to go, Godfrey Walusimbi broke on the left, exchanging passes with Massa.
When Walusimbi released Massa with the final neat pass, the University of Pretoria striker was calm personified, beating Bilal Sidibe before measuredly placing the ball past Mauritanian goalkeeper Brahim Soulemane.
Source: Supersport