Egypt showcased a formidable performance as they clashed with Uganda in the men’s Olympic Qualifiers at the University of Pretoria hockey grounds in South Africa on Friday, November 4, 2023.
Hockey Cranes coach, Innocent Raskara, made strategic changes to the lineup, promoting Richard Kaijuka to the goalpost due to his commendable performance in the last pool A game against South Africa. Additionally, Richard Ssemwogerere took Timothy Ntumba’s place at the starting lineup.
In the first quarter of the game, Uganda displayed a staunch defensive effort. However, their resilience was thwarted by Ahmed Elganaini’s deflection from a penalty corner, which resulted in Egypt taking the lead.
Uganda endeavored to regain their footing in the match, attempting to balance their offensive and defensive strategies. Unfortunately, this led to fatigue, allowing Egypt to capitalize. Hossameldin scored in the 21st minute, followed by Said Kamal converting a penalty stroke. Elganaini added to Egypt’s lead with another goal in the 26th minute, giving them a 4-0 advantage at halftime.
The third quarter saw two more Egyptian goals from Ahmed Gamal and their captain, Amr Sayed, who is fondly remembered in Uganda for representing Egypt Police at the Africa Cup of Club Championships in 2014 in Kampala.
However, these goals followed Raskara’s decision to reintroduce Ochan as the goalkeeper. Tragically, Ochan’s return was short-lived as he suffered an injury to his knee while saving a penalty corner, necessitating his removal from the field. Gamal further extended Egypt’s lead to 7-0 in the 47th minute, with Mahmoud Mamdouh converting another penalty corner just a minute later. Hossam Ghobran concluded the scoring spree in the 50th minute.
Uganda managed to salvage a consolation goal in the 57th minute when Ashraf Tumwesigye won a foul and quickly initiated a play to find Maxwell Mugisha unmarked in the D.
Reflecting on the game, goalkeeper Kaijuka expressed, “I think we lacked the right coordination to play today, and we will need to train together a lot more.” Meanwhile, his brother and team captain, Emmanuel Baguma, who was celebrating the birth of his son on the same day, remained optimistic, saying, “We are here to learn through these games, and hopefully, we will be better next time.”
With their Olympic dreams dashed, Uganda now sets their sights on competing for the bronze medal on Sunday. At the time of reporting, they awaited the outcome of the night match between South Africa and Ghana to determine their next opponents.
