The Uganda Queen Cranes have won a bronze medal at the on-going 13^th African Games in Ghana.

After a goalless 90 minutes, the Queen Cranes defeated Senegal 6-5 in penalty shoot outs of the play-off match played at the Cape Coast Stadium on Thursday night.

Sheryl Botes, the Uganda Queen Cranes coach said it was hard work that has seen them get this medal. “We played a good game and had many opportunities to score, but am happy we have won bronze. The exposure that the players have got here has been very good and we are building a strong team,” added Botes.

Moses Hassim Magogo, President of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) also thanked the national U-20 girls team for winning a medal at the Games. “I want to congratulate the Queen Cranes for winning bronze at the African Games. We brought a coach, one of the best on the continent and we allowed her to build a team. It is going to take time but we can already see certain things are working out,” he added.

The Uganda Queen Cranes started their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Tanzania, and stopped Ethiopia 2-0. They went on to draw 1-1 with Ghana and lost 2-0 to Nigeria at the semi-final stage.

The hosts Ghana also battled from a goal down to defeat Nigeria 2-1 in the final played later last night.

Uganda U-20 football team, Hippos have qualified for the final at the on-going 13^th Edition of the African Games.

The Hippos fought from two goals down in the first half to recover and beat Congo Brazzaville 4-2 in the first semi-final match played at the Accra Sports Stadium in Ghana on Tuesday evening.

After only 15 minutes Servyl Akouala gave Congo Brazzaville the lead from a well taken free-kick, and Mignon Koto made it 2-0 at the stroke of half time moments after goalkeeper Shamulan Kamya had been stretched off injured.

But after a lot of pep talk by the head coach Morley Byekwaso Ochama, the Hippos came back from the dressing room a different side full of hunger to win.  After 60 minutes Abasi Kyeyune pulled back one goal for the charged Hippos.

In a space of three minutes Bruno Bunyaga netted two crucial goals with the second coming after 70 minutes, and he added his name on the score sheet three minutes later.

Substitute Hakim Mutebi made it 4-2 for Uganda Hippos after 81 minutes with a well taken hard shot from outside the box that the Congo Brazzaville goalkeeper fumbled to save but tapped it into the net.

Uganda’s coach thanked God for the win. “We started the match and did not concentrate well. But we returned and played better,” said Ochama.

The Hippos will now face hosts Ghana in the final on Friday. Ghana defeated Senegal 1-0 in the second semi-final played on Tuesday.

The Uganda Hippos started their campaign in the group stage with a 2-1 win against Nigeria, and stopped Ghana and South Sudan by a similar 1-0 score line.

The Uganda Queen Cranes will face Senegal in the play-off match on Thursday to determine who wins bronze at the 13^th African Games in Ghana.

On Monday the defending champions Nigeria eliminated Uganda 2-0 in the first semi-final match played at the Cape Coast Stadium.

After a goalless first half with the two sides creating scoring opportunities, substitute Okah Adaobi broke the deadlock after 74 minutes, and Chiamaka Okwuchukwu made it 2-0 after 89 minutes.

Sheryl Botes, the Uganda Queen Cranes said she was proud of her team that gave their best and have picked a lot of exposure in the African Games. “We played against a very good and experienced Nigerian team that has given us a lot of lessons,” added Botes.

In the second semi-final match hosts Ghana defeated Senegal 3-1.

The Uganda Queen Cranes have so far played four matches at the African Games winning one 2-0 against Ethiopia. They drew 1-1 against Tanzania and Ghana, and lost against Nigeria.

The head coach of Uganda’s U-20 women’s team, Que Cranes has said that facing Nigeria in one of the semi-final ties at the African Games on Monday will not be an easy task on Monday.

Sheryl Botes made it clear that facing Nigeria who are the defending champions and have an experienced team will call for hard work from his team.

While Uganda will battle Nigeria, the hosts Ghana who topped Group A will take on Senegal in the second semi-final match, with the two matches taking place at the Cape Coast Stadium.

“We come into the game with believe that we can beat Nigeria. Facing Nigeria will be tough, but our tactical approach will definitely change from our previous matches because we are facing a team that usually is in control,” added Botes.

The Queen Cranes coach who took charge of Uganda’s women’s teams last November made it clear that they are coming into the match all determined to win. “We need to keep building a winning mentality and it is good to start it with the young players,” added the coach.

To reach the knock out stage Uganda Queen Cranes started with a 1-1 draw against Tanzania, and stopped Ethiopia 2-0. In the last Group match few days ago the Queen Cranes settled for a 1-1 draw against the hosts Ghana.

The best two teams after the semi-finals will battle for gold and silver, while the losing semi-finalists tussle it out for the bronze medal.