Uganda defeated Botswana 2-0 in their opening match of Group D of the Africa Cup of Nations 2017 qualifiers at the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala on Saturday.

A goal each in the second half from Geoffrey Massa and Brian Umony were enough to give Uganda the victory after having dominated the entire match.

Uganda came into this match as favourites following their decent home record, having won seven out of seven fixtures.

It was Uganda that started dominating the match, with University of Pretoria striker Geoffrey Massa pulling off threatening shots.

In the 21st minute captain Massa also missed an opportunity to give his side an early lead as he was late to connect with Luwagga’s delivery.

In the 32nd minute Botswana came back with a powerful strike, but it missed the target.

Miya almost netted the first goal for Uganda in the additional minutes of the first half, but he was denied, which meant the teams went into the break deadlocked at 0-0.

Captain Massa finally found the back of the net in the 54th minute, giving Uganda a 1-0 lead after receiving a cross from Luwagga.

Ten minutes later Umony made no mistake and doubled the lead for Uganda as he netted the second goal of the match in the 64th minute.

Uganda continued to dominate the match and in the 80th minute Sentamu nearly took the score to three, but he failed to connect with Luwagga’s delivery.

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com