Where were you when Uganda Cranes pulled off the greatest Houdini Act of all time to snatch qualification from the jaws of elimination? If you weren’t at Mandela National Stadium on Monday night, kick yourself.
Uganda Cranes started the day needing to avoid defeat to advance to the knockout stage of CHAN for the first time ever. But with two minutes to go, the team was trailing 3-1. They were dead and buried. Or so it seemed.
For nearly the entire game, South Africa were the better side. They pinned Cranes with their relentless press and moved the ball neatly and incisively. Even when Uganda took the lead through Jude Ssemugabi, the strike was against the run of play.
That half time lead lifted the roof of Namboole and gave Uganda the much-needed respite it needed having been on the back foot for so long a time. But disaster then struck. Ramalhwe Mphalele poked in from a goal mouth melee to draw Bafana Bafana level before Thabiso Kutumela punished diabolical defending off a throw in to grant his side a 2-1 lead before the hour mark.
When South Africa took a 3-1 lead with seven minutes left on the clock through Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo’s expertly weighed long range finish with goalkeeper Joel Mutakubwa dragged out of position, Cranes were out.
Streams of disgusted and crestfallen fans could be seen exiting the stadium. They knew it was all over. Indeed. it should have been over. But in sport, it is never over until it is over. The reason we love sport is because we can’t foretell what will happen in the next minute. We don’t have the divine ability to control the next minute.
With the clock running down fast, Allan Okello craftily won a penalty after drawing an infringement from South Africa’s Mphalele. He duly dispatched it to go joint-top of the top scorers’ log with Kutumela and Morocco’s Oussama Lamlioui.
Still, Uganda were heading for the exit. The team was going to check out of the Cranes Paradise Hotel in Kisaasi. In fact at 90 minutes with Uganda 3-2 down, Cranes were out. Dead and buried. With Algeria and Niger playing a goalless result at Nyayo stadium in Nairobi, Uganda needed a miracle.
And the miracle did happen; one of biblical proportions. Cranes got a corner, South Africa failed to clear and as Hillary Mukundane struck a shot in the melee, it ricocheted off Menzi Masuku’s arm. Cue delirium in Namboole.
The stadium was shaking from pillar to post. The buzz could be heard from Seeta to the city centre. Uganda Cranes had earned a penalty, courtesy of VAR that would determine whether or not the hosts would be playing in Saturday’s quarter final.
Time stood still. But Rogers Torach, who had been nervy all day, confidently stepped forward. With Allan Okello substituted, the team appeared to be stranded as to who the designated second-choice penalty taker would be. But from his body language, Torach had confidence in himself. When he stepped, he made no mistake.
In burying that penalty deep in stoppage, Torach transformed Namboole from what would have been a graveyard-like silence into pandemonium. It was joy unconfined for the full-to-capacity stadium, and the Cranes are growing from strength to strength.
Saturday’s quarterfinal against either Sudan or Senegal will be a difficult contest. But having emerged from a group that had Algeria, South Africa, Guinea and Niger, Cranes are growing in confidence at the right time.
With Joel Sserinjogi set to return for the Senegal game and Okello improving with every passing match, Uganda has no reason to fear.
The team can afford to dream.