The Uganda Under-17 National Team secured a 3-1 victory over Mozambique Under-17 in a preparatory match played in Casablanca, Morocco, as part of their build-up to the Africa Cup of Nations Under-17 tournament.
Brian Olwa gave Uganda the lead on the stroke of half-time with a composed finish in the 45th minute to hand the Cubs a 1-0 advantage at the break.
Mozambique responded after recess and equalised in the 55th minute through Mubai. Uganda, however, responded strongly with an improved second-half performance.
Ibanda Arafat scored twice to seal the victory for the Cubs. He restored Uganda’s lead in the 60th minute before adding a third in the 75th minute to complete his brace.
The fixture was the first of two preparatory matches lined up for Uganda ahead of the tournament.
The Head Coach highlighted the team’s strong response in the second half and overall satisfaction with the performance.
‘From where we sit in as a technical team, we are very happy with the performance. I would say it’s a game of two halves. First half, you know, we see the boys were struggling a little bit.’
‘But in the second half, it got better in terms of dominating play and creating more chances.’
He also pointed to the improved execution after the interval following the half-time team talk.
‘They came out with the right team talk in the half time. I think they came out well and executed.’
Looking ahead, he expressed confidence in the squad ahead of the next fixture.
‘The boys are ready and we are looking forward to starting the competition well.’
