African Cup Of Nations: Penalty heartache for Williamson’s Ugandans

Published on 15/10/2012 00:55

Former Hibs and Kilmarnock manager Bobby Williamson suffered African Cup of Nations heartache on Saturday after Uganda missed out on reaching next year’s finals in a penalty shoot-out defeat to reigning champions Zambia.

Geoffrey Massa brought the two-legged tie level and sparked hope that the Cranes could reach the tournament in South Africa for the first time since 1978. The match went straight to penalties after 90 minutes and Zambia won 9-8 from 12 yards after Patrick Ochan had his effort saved.

It was another shoot-out success for Zambia after they had beaten Ivory Coast last year to become continental champions.

Zambia head coach Herve Renard had sympathy for his Ugandan counterpart, saying: “I have no idea what I’d tell Bobby Williamson because this is a heartbreaking defeat for them.

“It’s always hard for the team to lose on penalties but we know when it comes to that, we always excel over our opponents.”