Laffor scores for Lone Stars

ANTHONY Laffor scored on his return to the Liberia team on Sunday and then broke down in tears after beating his own club teammate Dennis Onyango as the Lone Stars beat Uganda to win their first match of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

The goal was an emotional moment for the Mamelodi Sundowns winger, who had been restored to the team and handed back the captain's armband after being kicked out of the squad last year for indiscipline.

Laffor caught Onyango with a surprise 35m shot in the 50th minute to ensure a 2-0 win in Monrovia and second place behind Senegal in their group standings.

Sundowns' other big-name international star, Elias Pelembe, did not have the same good fortune, however, as Mozambique proved wasteful in front of goal against Guinea in Maputo.

The Mambas hit the crossbar near the end of the game but missed several other good chances, mirroring the performance of Bafana Bafana on Saturday night, and are still without a win in their group.

Also on Sunday, Maritzburg United's tough central defender Mohamed Awal was an unused substitute as Ghana beat Sudan 4-0 in Kumasi.

Tonight, Zimbabwe play away in Egypt in their World Cup qualifier where they await a final fitness report on University of Pretoria goalkeeper Washington Arubi and key striker Knowledge Musona, formerly of Kaizer Chiefs.

Arubi hurt two fingers of his left hand while diving for the ball during a training session on Saturday, while German-based Musona has a bout of flu and both are doubtful for the tie in Alexandria.

Zimbabwe's new coach Klaus Dieter Pagels has appointed new Bidvest Wits signing Denver Mukamba as captain but left out eight of his South African-based players as he revamped the squad ahead of the game.