The victory placed the Hippos in a better position in as far as the semi-final progression hopes are concerned
Uganda U20 head coach Morley Byekwaso has lauded the players for a good show that saw them pick a 6-1 win over Burundi in a Cecafa Championship tie on Wednesday.
The championship also acts as the U20 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers for the Cecafa region and after they were frustrated by South Sudan in the opener with a 0-0 draw, the Hippos responded by dispatching Burundi in the second engagement.
The victory saw Uganda earn four points and go top of their group as Burundi are scheduled to face South Sudan on Friday in Group B’s last match.
Ivan Bogere, after earning his first start in the tournament, scored the opener for Uganda in the 42nd minute before a penalty was successfully converted by Najib Iga two minutes after the opener had been registered.
Bogere scored his second in the 52nd minute to make it 3-0 for Uganda as Isma Mugulusi got two goals and Joseph Kizza got one to hand the Hippos a huge win.
Alfred Nkurunziza scored the only goal for Burundi in two minutes of added time that was awarded by Somalian referee Ahmed Hassan Hussein.
“I am glad my players responded well and scored many goals,” Byekwaso said in his post-match interview as per Cecafaonline.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia bounced back from their opening loss to Kenya and mounted a comeback to stun Sudan 3-2 in a Group C match.
It was Sudan’s first match and they started on a high with two goals from Abdelkarim Yousif in the first half.
Ethiopia responded in the second half and restored parity from two goals scored by Beyene Bayse as Biruk Balcha scored the winning goal at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium in Arusha.
“I am happy that I scored two goals to help my team win the match,” said Bayse after the game.
The 3-2 win did not guarantee Ethiopia a straight semi-final qualification since they still have to wait and see what happens in the other group games.
The top teams in each group will qualify for the semis while the second-placed team is expected to take the fourth available slot.
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