CHAN: Uganda buckled under pressure in opening Algeria defeat – Byekwaso

Uganda coach Morley Byekwaso has openly confessed that his side crumbled under pressure as they suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Algeria in their opening fixture of the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) at Namboole Stadium in Kampala on Monday.

Goals from Ayoub Ghezala, Abderrahmane Meziane and Soufiane Bayazid sealed the win for the North African giants to silence Ugandan fans, who had thronged the match venue for the cracker.

“We came in to give our best, but we failed in our defensive block and paid the price,” Byekwaso told CAFOnline.com at the final whistle. “The team was anxious. We couldn’t launch transitions, and the pressure was a decisive factor in the loss.”

Byekwaso admitted: After the first goal, we collapsed emotionally. We missed chances, lost the ball cheaply, and failed to manage the game. I believe we have good players. Now we must recover mentally, accept our mistakes, and work to improve before the next game.”

He concluded: “The midfield lacked control, and we were too stretched. We need to tighten up and keep things simple. We’ll talk to the players. We need more control of the game and must strengthen the midfield. We still have two matches to show our real character.”

The result marked Algeria’s third consecutive win over Uganda at CHAN, extending their unbeaten group stage record in the competition to seven matches.