KAMPALA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Co-hosts Uganda finally recovered to collect a 3-0 win against Guinea in the TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024 Group C match played on Friday night.
Cheered on by the home fans, Uganda Cranes launched an aggressive start at the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala.
After 31 minutes Regan Mpande, who features for SC Villa in the Uganda Premier League, made no mistake nodding the ball past Guinea's goalkeeper Ousmane Camara.
Yakhouba Barry had a chance for Guinea five minutes later, but shot wide before the first half ended 1-0 in favour of the hosts.
In the second half, Guinea came all out with a high passing approach, but the Uganda Cranes defenders stood firm. After 66 minutes, Aboubacar Bangoura brought down Allan Okello, who converted from the spot to make it 2-0.
Guinea tried to fight back and believed they had earned a penalty in the 74th minute, but it was overturned after a VAR review.
Substitute Ivan Ahimbisibwe also got his name on the score sheet for Uganda after 89 minutes as the home team ran riot against the West African side.
"I am happy that after losing our opening match to Algeria, the players have responded positively and collected three points and three goals in the second match," said Uganda's coach Morley Byekwaso after the match attended by over 30,000 spectators.
In an earlier match, South Africa battled from a goal down to hold 2023 finalists Algeria to a 1-1 draw.
The Desert Fennecs took the lead after 29 minutes with Abdennour Belhocini's strike. But South Africa fought back to level matters through Thabiso Kutumela on the stroke of half time.
Algeria now leads Group C with four points, while Uganda is second with three points and better goal difference than Guinea, who is also on three points.
