Uganda Cranes' custodian Nafian Alionzi was on top form when his team needed it most as Uganda pulled off a team spirited remarkable win over Senegal to maintain their chances of moving on to the knock out stages of the  African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2022.

Uganda over came the ten-man West African giants with a 1-0 win in the Group B game played on Wednesday. 18th. January. 2022 at the 19th May 1956 Stadium in Annaba, Algeria.

Alionzi saved a penalty by Cheikh Tidiane Sidibé in 26th minute after Frank Ssebufu had fouled Moussa Ndiaye in the penalty area during an aerial challenge.

Alionzi, who had a very busy evening went ahead to make more brilliant saves which include one against Cheikh Sidibe, Cheikh Diouf in a one on one face off.

A cagey game for the Cranes in Annaba burst into life after they took the lead that eventually came out to be the match winner.

The amazing win manifested that dominating is not winning. In a game, you can have possession of the ball, dominate your opponent from start to finish, but this does not guarantee success.

After Aliozi saving the Uganda Cranes from falling a goal down; his efforts were rewarded in the 33rd minute when team Skipper Milton Karisa opened the scoring with a close range finish.

Karisa made no mistake when he found the back of the net with a cool finish past Senegal goalkeeper Pape Sy off a Kenneth Ssemakula cross from the left to ignite the Cranes into celebrations.

The Cranes sailed through the last minutes of the first half with the 1-0 advantage against a Senegalese side that had a strong start to the game, controlling the majority of the possession.

After the break, the Cranes superbly matched the pressure from the West Africans, chasing and closing down much of thier operations areas mainly in the middle of the park and it is this brilliant team play that finally delivered the well deserved maximum points.

Teranga Lions substitute Libasse Ngom was dismissed for a severe foul on Abdul Karim Watambala in the 83rd minute and this gave Uganda the numerical advantage it needed to hold on and defeat the West Africans.

This was Uganda's second win in the history of the championship with the first one coming against Burkina Faso (2-1) at the 2014 tournament in South Africa; and did not have a victory at the CHAN events in 2016, 2018, or 2020.

Uganda can now start to prepare for their first ever knockout show at the Championship since their 1-0 defeat over Senegal saw them go top of Group B with 4 points after 2 games, with one game to go. 

Senegal are second on 3 points while Democratic Republic of Congo and Ivory Coast are on 2 points and 1 point respectively.

Uganda's last game will be against Ivory Coast on Sunday, and a point will be just enough to cement their knock out spot.

Story by Joseph Mary Ssempiira; Writer www.sportznow.ug