Former Black stars player Laryea Kingston has praised the performance of his Uganda under-17 side after they opened their CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations campaign with an emphatic 3-0 victory over DR Congo.
The former Ghana international guided Uganda to a commanding win in their opening Group B fixture on Wednesday, handing the East Africans a perfect start to the tournament.
Speaking after the match, Kingston expressed satisfaction with both the result and the overall display from his young team.
“It was a very good performance. To say I am satisfied ; yes, definitely. Every team dreams of winning their first game in a competition because the opening match is always very important,” Kingston said in comments quoted by CAFOnline.
Despite the convincing scoreline, the Ugandan coach admitted that some members of the squad initially struggled to settle because of the occasion and their limited international experience.
According to Kingston, many of the players were travelling outside Uganda for the first time, something he believes affected the team mentally during the early stages of the game.
“Mentally, I think the occasion affected some of the players a little bit because most of them are very young and for many of them it was their first time travelling outside Uganda. We did not start the game very well, but as the match progressed, the boys settled down,” he explained.
Kingston added that his players gradually grew in confidence as the match developed and successfully carried out the tactical instructions given by the coaching staff.
“Everything we taught them, they stuck to the game plan and gradually started expressing themselves. From a technical perspective, myself and my staff are very pleased with the performance,” Kingston added.
The victory moves Uganda to the top of Group B and strengthens confidence within the camp ahead of their next fixture against Cameroon.
Uganda’s impressive opening display has also boosted their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages as they continue their campaign in the tournament.
For Kingston, the result represents an encouraging start in his role with the young Ugandan side as they seek to establish themselves among the strongest teams at the competition.
