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This was unquestionably the expected outcome, but the Teranga Lions of Senegal were made to claw their way to the finish line, as the Cranes of Uganda were having none of it.
The Ugandans made an appearance in the AFCON knockout phase for the first time since 1978, and despite being clear underdogs, they took the fight to Senegal. They had 7 shots in total, with 3 on target, forcing Senegal's Alfred Gomis to make a couple of crucial saves.
It was a very boisterous game, with the opening minutes seeing the referee dish out a flurry of yellow cards in the lead up to the game's opener.
In the end, a 15th-minute Sadio Mane strike was enough to see the Senegalese through, despite Uganda's defiant resolve.
The win sees Senegal through to the quarterfinals, with the Squirrels of Benin waiting and hoping to cause another famous upset.
In this article, we analyse 3 reasons why the Teranga Lions beat Uganda's Cranes.
#3 Sadio Mane's clinical finish
The tournament has certainly been a mixed bag for Sadio Mane. He started off by missing Senegal's opener against Tanzania due to yellow cards accumulated in the qualifiers, however, he has gone on to score 3 goals in 3 games, missing 2 spot-kicks against Kenya and Uganda along the way.
His lone strike against Uganda was enough to see his team through, and it took him to the top of the AFCON goal rankings.
In the 15th minute, the Liverpool man concluded a pretty impressive attacking display by latching onto a through ball from M'baye Niang, deftly sending the ball past the irrepressible Denis Onyango to put the game at 1-0.
Sadio Mane went on to miss a spot kick in the 2nd half, as Onyango became villain and hero for the Ugandans in a span of a few minutes.
Mane's cool finish early on proved to be decisive in the end, as the Ugandans unquestionably proved to be a handful. The Liverpool man will be looking to increase his AFCON 2019 tally as well as shake off his spot-kick blues when his team faces West African neighbours, Benin, next.
#2 Alfred Gomis' safe hands
Italy based shot-stopper, Alfred Gomis, was called in to replace Senegal's number one, Edouard Mendy, who has been ruled out of the tournament due to a broken finger.
He made his AFCON 2019 debut against the Harambee Stars of Kenya, and in the round of 16, he was on hand to make a flurry of crucial saves, preventing the game from potentially going into extra time.
In the 22nd minute, the Senegalese shot stopper prevented a potential equaliser, as Uganda's Emmanuel Okwi let loose a thunderous shot from just outside the penalty area, sending it past a hodgepodge of red and green shirts and on towards Gomis' goal.
In the dying embers of the game, Alfred Gomis was once again available to dash Ugandan hopes, as in the 79th minute he showcased his catlike reflexes, thwarting Allan Kateregga's beautifully taken free kick attempt.
It is said that the goalkeeper is the last line of defence, and Gomis certainly defended his goal-line with aplomb last night. The Teranga Lions will be hoping for more heroics from him as they go further into the business end of the tournament.
#1 A wasteful Ugandan attack
The lead up to the game for Uganda was tumultuous, as they refused to train on July 2, due to unpaid wages. However, they still managed to put up an exciting performance against their more fancied West African opponents.
The Ugandans had a total of 7 shots, with 3 on target, more than the Senegalese team. That was quite impressive, but it wasn't enough.
The Cranes of Uganda huffed and puffed, but they weren't coordinated enough to breach Alfred Gomis' goal-line.
This was Uganda's first AFCON knockout appearance since 1978, and their ouster was certainly due to a combination of inexperience and a technical deficit in the final third.
According to Uganda's Michael Azira, the difference was the fact that his team couldn't finish off opportunities, he said:
“It was not that tough, the thing is we just couldn't finish, and they got two good chances and they put away one and it makes the difference. This game is about scoring,”
