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A win for either side could have sealed a place in the knockout phase, but they were both careless in front of goal in what was an end-to-end game.
Uganda and Congo played out an exciting 2-2 draw in their Group B encounter at the 2023 U20 Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday, leaving both sides with work to do in order to advance to the quarter-finals.
The Hippos, with only one change from Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Central African Republic were left to rue a flurry of missed chances in the game at the Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia.
A win for either side could have sealed a place in the knockout phase, but they were both careless in front of goal in what was an end-to-end game.
Uganda found themselves in early trouble five minutes into the game when Josna Loulendo powered in his header from Prince Soussou’s corner.
The goal arrived less than 120 seconds after John Paul Dembe missed a glorious opportunity to put the Hippos ahead after he was played through by captain Isma Mugulusi.
Uganda pulled level six minutes later, Titus Ssematimba benefiting from a goalkeeping error by Christophe Wamba who dropped Rogers Mugisha’s low free-kick into his path.
The Hippos completed a quick turnaround in the 33rd minute, as Saidi Mayanja seized the opportunity to score the second goal for Uganda.
Uganda went into the halftime break with the lead but were also handed a numerical advantage when Congo captain Claude Ngongara was shown red for violent dissent as the teams returned to the locker room for the halftime break.
Jackson Mayanja’s side had a firmer grip on the game after it restarted, but struggled to convert this into decent chances. Dembe shot wide. Mugisha failed to work the goalkeeper before Mugulusi shot wide from the rebound despite the assistant’s flag going up shortly after.
Congo refused to buckle down and kept on coming at Uganda with every available opportunity, and nearly grabbed a leveler, but Soussou placed his effort wide of the target.
Congo eventually grabbed their equaliser in the 72nd minute, when Arnauvy Mombouli was left free from a corner kick before heading in the leveler.
Travis Mutyaba and Issa Bugembe’s introduction did not help, with the latter lacking in sharpness in crucial moments while the former squandered a counter-attack deep in added time.
Even with this result, the Hippos – now on four points – can qualify for the quarter-finals if they can avoid defeat against neighbours South Sudan on Sunday.
Congo – also on four points – plays the Central African Republic on the same day. CAR has already been eliminated from the tournament following its defeat to South Sudan.
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