Jonathan Mckinstry (left) before kickoff. Bauldron photo

Sunday, November 17
*Uganda 2-0 Malawi
*South Sudan 1-2 Burkina Faso

Uganda Cranes head Coach Jonathan McKinstry was pleased with his boys after beating Malawi 2-0 at Namboole.

The Cranes laid down a significant marker in their bid to return to AFCON for a third consecutive edition after goals from Emmanuel Okwi and Fahad Bayo put the side on top of group B with four points.

Speaking in a post match press conference at Namboole, the Northern Irishman said;

“Football is about moments and we utilised our chances when those key moments presented themselves.

“Okwi, an experienced campaigner, doesn’t need two chances and he took the chance he was given. Full credit to Bayo, I know he has played at a certain level but this was a big atmosphere for him – one-on-one with the goalkeeper that is a difficult moment for the young man but he did calm down and took the chance.”

He added:

“We had one or two other moments in the first half I was calling for a penalty for Miya who was going for open goal but I still need to watch it. I thank the players who played well, though second half was definitely better than the first.”

Despite the victory against the Flames, Mckinstry who was in charge for his first game, was not a happy man because of the poor state of the pitch:

“For both teams, the pitch was a little bit of a challenge but we had to cope up with it and we did the best as we got our three points that we needed.”

Uganda cranes are now table leaders of Group B with four points, bettering Burkina Faso who beat South Sudan 2-1, on goal difference.