RUDE WELCOME: Cranes undone by AFCON stage fright

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

As he sung the Ugandan national anthem inside the Stade de Port-Gentil, tears welled up in his eyes.

This is the moment ardent fan Jaz Kassim (pictured) had been waiting for.

From the moment Farouk Miya scored that 36th-minute goal, which saw Uganda advance to the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Gabon for the first time since 1978, Kassim knew his journey to cheer his local boys had arrived.

And he could not miss the opportunity for anything. He grabbed it with both hands.

And five hours before Uganda’s Group D opening match against Ghana, Kassim was patiently waiting. Waiting for that moment when he would see his brothers emerge from the tunnel.

It would not be anytime soon though. It is just 2pm (Kenyan time), but Kassim has all the time to wait. After all, it has taken his country, Uganda, 39 agonising years before their Afcon comeback.

In fact, the last time Uganda played in Afcon finals, the late dictator Idi Amin was still their president. And none of the players in action here had been born. It was that long.

But I digress. Back to Kasim and his enviable patriotism. As both teams lined up for their respective national anthems, he froze. Seconds later, with lungs full of oxygen, he sang along. At some point, he almost cried.

“I have been waiting for this moment to come. I can’t imagine I’m seeing this,” he said, in between passing glances and issuing endless instructions to captain Geoffrey Massa and company. They could not hear him. But he didn’t care. He kept on.

“Come on Kizito, mark your man... Massa banange (my goodness)... make that run,” he would shout as his hoarse voice got swallowed by the cacophonous sounds inside the newly built stadium.

He was not bothered. He cheered endlessly. Despite having bought his match ticket, he never sat on his chair. He stood all the time. Not even when defender Isaac Isinde gave away a penalty, which Andre Ayew happily converted. Patriotism at its best.

But the goal hit him; hard. When Ayew scored, he bit his lower lip, closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them wide.

Armed with his banner written “I eat, sleep, dream Cranes,” he picked from where he had left.

But it was evident; the goal rather took the wind out of his sails. No matter how hard he tried, the dynamism, the power, the machismo; all gone in one nasty and horrifying second; all thanks to Isinde’s brief moment of insanity.

But his coach, Milutin “Michu” Sredojevic admitted playing at that level must have been a difficult task for his charges.

“It has been long since we played here and with the experience of a player like (Asamoah) Gyan, we were punished,” said the tactician.

“We paid for that mistake, which is quite hard to explain.”

Even in defeat, Ugandan players walked off the stadium as soldiers; with their heads held up high. They have lived to fight another day.

As for Kassim, he did not utter a word. He left in silence.

Uganda face seven-time Africa winners Egypt in their next outing at the same stadium on Saturday.