Williamson heartbreak as Uganda miss out

SCOTS BOSS Bobby Williamson suffered African Cup of Nations heartache on Saturday after Uganda missed out on reaching next year’s finals in a agonising 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 incredibly 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 starstudded 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.”

“We tried our best in this match and it is a good thing we are done with qualifiers, it was harsh but the finals are a big tournament and everybody has a chance.”

Two Scottish referees will be inWorld Cup action this week, with Willie Collum and Craig Thomson facing trips to the Eastern European cauldrons of Bratislava and Bucharest.

Collum will be the man in the middle as Slovakia host Greece in Group G on Tuesday, while Thomson will be charged with Romania’s tie against the superstars of Holland.