Ghost’s Eyes

- Underdogs Tusker surprised many by clinching Cecafa Cup

By JACOB MULEE

When Tusker left Nairobi for the Cecafa tournament nobody expected them to go past the first round.

Perhaps with the recent performances in the Kenyan Premier League coupled with the replacement of their coach in the national team little was expected of them.

When they beat Simba Sports Club in the opening match it was perceived as a fluke and the doubting Thomases had their doubts confirmed when Tusker lost 3-1 to Vital’O of Burundi.

After the first round matches in group A, all the teams were at three points and were all faced with the risk of elimination in the case they lost the next match.

Benadir of Somalia were the surprise winners in the first match against Vital O and at some point they were dubbed favorites to qualify from the group.

Simba struggled to overcome Benadir but got it right towards the end of first half though the goal was said to have been scored through the ‘hand of god’.

Then it was Tusker’s turn to dispatch Benadir by the same margin and it was a clear statement that what Simba does Tusker could also do.

Simba showed their experience and intentions of going all to way by eliminating the strong Vital’O 2-0 in the final group match to top the group with the same number of points as Tusker but with a superior goal difference.

The quarters were very interesting in the sense that by coincidence the two Tanzanian teams (Simba and Yanga) avoided each.

Simba were the first qualifiers to the semis and Yanga, their fierce archrivals also made it to the last four by eliminating APR of Rwanda. URA of Uganda and Tusker completed the list of the last four. The first upset was the elimination of Simba by URA followed by the heartbreaking defeat of Yanga by Tusker, who were improving in every match.

The mood in Dar es Saalam changed from a very noisy and vibrant football crazy town to a quiet solemn city after reality dawned that no Tanzanian team would be in the finals. That meant the Cup was destined for either Uganda or Kenya.

Finally the underdogs Tusker were crowned Kagame Cup champions for the fifth time having been winners in 1988, 1989, 2000 and 2001.

- The writer is Tusker coach and took the national team Harambee Stars to the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia.

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