Ten-man Congo managed to pick a point against Uganda after playing out to a 2-2 draw in an entertaining AFCON U20 match staged on Thursday evening at the Suez Canal Stadium.Heading into the game, both sides had won their opening matches. Congo had seen off South Sudan while Uganda had whipped the Central African Republic, and a win for either side would have put them in a good position to top the group.##NAJAVA_MECA_7041449##Six minutes into the game, Josna Loulendo gave Congo the lead, an advantage that lasted for six minutes before Titus Ssematimba leveled the scores for Uganda in what was proving to be an entertaining contest in the opening minutes of the game.Both teams continued to raid in search of goals and against the run of play, Uganda took the lead through Saidi Mayanja who finished off a sweeping move in the 33rd minute. The goal appeared to stun Congo, who until then appeared to be the more likely side to score.Things went from bad to worse for Congo just before the interval when Claude Negongara was shown a straight red card for what looked like a stamp on Mayanja, leaving his side with a mountain to climb. Uganda took a narrow lead into the interval.Points are shared at the Suez Canal Stadium, Ismailia.Full time! Congo U20 2️⃣-2️⃣ Uganda U20#TotalEnergiesAFCONU20 | #CGOUGA pic.twitter.com/swq72cDinj— FUFA (@OfficialFUFA) February 23, 2023 Uganda were expected to run the second half as they boasted of a man advantage but Congo had other ideas. They literally forced Uganda to defend deep with their endless attacks through the flanks. They also looked dangerous on set pieces.One of the set pieces would eventually yield a goal in the 72nd minute. An unmarked, Arnauvy Princide Mombouli rose high to head home the leveler, Uganda keeper Abdu Magada was left distraught with his team’s poor marking or rather lack of it. In the end, the points were shared as neither side could find the winning strike.Congo face the Central African Republic on Sunday while Uganda will play South Sudan in what will be the final group B matches. Both teams are tied at four points and the result automatically eliminates CAR.
