Cecafa: Amavubi eye place in last eight

AMAVUBI Stars take on Zanzibar this evening with hope of victory to guarantee their slot in the last eight. The clash is a repeat of last year’s quarter final tie which Amavubi won 2-1.

Thursday, November 29, 2012
Amavubi skipper Haruna Niyonzima will have to play a central role if his team is to progress to the last eight. The New Times/File.

Today, Group C, live on SS9EEritrea    vs    Malawi    -    3pmRwanda    vs    Zanzibar    -    5pmAMAVUBI Stars take on Zanzibar this evening with hope of victory to guarantee their slot in the last eight.The clash is a repeat of last year’s quarter final tie which Amavubi won 2-1. However, this will be Amavubi’s second qualification match looking to progress to the quarterfinals of this year’s Cecafa Tusker Cup.A win tonight will give Micho leeway to field a number of inexperienced youngsters in Saturday’s match against Eritrea."We will take on Zanzibar as a final match. We don’t want to lose any game. I am hoping for a big improvement in today’s game,” he said."I expect a good defence, creative midfield and sharp attack from the choice of players who will be fielded against Zanzibar,” Micho added."We have now put everything regarding the first match behind us and we are now focused on winning the next game against Zanzibar,” revealed Micho.The Serbian intends to retain the same side that started and humbled Malawi 2-0. However, he said I won’t hesitate to make changes early in the game if the team gives the ball away cheaply and fail to go by his instructions.Zanzibar too, a side which plays a physical game as exhibited in their goalless draw against Eritrea, will be on a lookout especially for skipper Haruna Niyonzima.In an earlier game, Eritrea who have a point following a goalless draw against Zanzibar face Malawi. Rwanda leads Group C with three points after the win against Malawi in the first game, with Eritrea and Zanzibar following respectively with one point each. Malawi is bottom of the group table.Meanwhile, hosts and defending champions Uganda was the first country to reach the last eight of this year’s Cecafa Tusker Cup after beating Ethiopia 1-0 at Namboole on Tuesday.Brian Umony scored the game’s solitary goal after just nine minutes to see coach Bobby Williamson’s side move to six points and top of Group A.Uganda leads pool A with six points and will only need a draw against South Sudan to progress to the quarte finals. Ethiopia on the other hand need to beat Kenya to earn a spot in the Quarter finals. They are third in the group.