By Our man in Rabat
RABBAT, Morocco – IT was a Moroccan mud-fight as East African neighbours Uganda and Tanzania fought out a bruising 1-1 draw at the Al Medina Stadium in Rabat.
The “Battle of East Africa” was exported to the North African rain, and while the weather was cold, the atmosphere inside the 10,000-capacity Al Medina was white-hot. On a surface slick with December drizzle, both sides knew that anything less than a win would leave their AFCON dreams on life support.
Tanzania’s “Taifa Stars” thought they had finally broken their tournament curse just before the hour mark.
After a frantic scramble in the box, Uganda’s Baba Alhassan was judged to have handled the ball.
Up stepped the veteran Simon Msuva, who kept his cool while all around him were losing theirs, slotting the penalty past Denis Onyango to spark wild celebrations in the stands. For 20 minutes, it looked like Tanzania would secure a historic victory on Moroccan soil.
But the Cranes of Uganda refused to be grounded.
With the Rabat rain lashing down, substitute Uche Ikpeazu—the powerhouse striker from Scottish side St Johnstone—proved to be the hero. In the 80th minute, he rose highest to meet a peach of a cross from Denis Omedi, powered a header home, and leveled the score.
The Al Medina nearly witnessed a miracle in stoppage time when Uganda were awarded a penalty of their own.
The chance to snatch all three points fell to Allan Okello, but with the weight of a nation on his shoulders, he blazed his effort high over the bar into the Rabat night.
The final whistle blew on a 1-1 draw that leaves both teams facing a mountain to climb in Group C.
They have the points, but at the Al Medina tonight, they both missed the knockout punch.
