BY DIRAMAKINI
ROGERS Mato scored a late winner as Uganda Cranes edged past Tanzania on Tuesday in Dar es Salaam.
The game played at Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium saw Uganda defeat Tanzania 1-0 to boost their chances of qualification to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Mato came off the bench and provided the decisive moment of the game deep in stoppage time.
The closely contested game had limited scoring opportunities for either side but it was Mato who came out the hero scoring in the first minute of the four added minutes.
Coach Milutin Sredojevic made four changes from the team that started on Friday last week in Egypt.
Timothy Awany replace Livingstone Mulondo at the hear of defence ans started alongside Halidi Lwaliwa.
Bobosi Byaruhanga, Isma Mugulusi and Richard Basangwa all started ahead of Siraje Ssentamu, Faruku Miya and Fahad Bayo in that order.
There was indeed improvement in performance from the lads marching Tanzania pound for pound.
The game had a long halt eight minutes before the break following a challenge with the floodlights and it took 30 minutes for the referees to resume play.
In the second half, coach Sredojevic made further changes bringing on Bayo, Mato and Miya and Travis Mutyaba.
The introduction of the trio made instant impact and Uganda kept surging forward in search for a goal.
The breakthrough eventually came in stoppage time with Mato receiving a through pass from Miya before slotting past goalkeeper Aishi Manula.
The win lifts Uganda to third place on 4 points same as Tanzania who are second on the log in Group F. Uganda will return to action in June with a home fixture against Algeria.