Uganda Cranes saw their World Cup 2014 qualification journey crash to an agonizing end at the hands of Senegal in an eventful decider that saw defender Godfrey Walusimbi sent off.
The visitors should have scored early in either half of the tense tie, but were left to massage their misfortunes with resultant missed close chances at goal.
The West Africans, on their part, equally had their shining moments which did not translate into positives on the score board until late into the game, thanks to a Sadio Mane finish.
Mane, who currently plays for Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg, tapped in home in the 84th minute to elevate the level of task the Cranes had to overcome to go through.
But with a man short and time running out on them, Coach Micho Sredojevic’s men could not recover.
The result rhymed perfectly well with what the Lions of Teranga needed to maintain their lead in Group J and consequently move on to the final qualifying round, from which five countries will advance to represent Africa in Brazil.
Micho’s side traveled to Marrakech, the neutral ground, in very high spirits on the back of a victorious friendly against Botswana. And the subplot that developed around the pre-match with the financial boost by President Yoweri Museveni to the team and their supporters couldn’t have made things any better.
NV
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