The Uganda Premier League (UPL) returns after a two-week break with giants KCCA FC, Vipers SC and Express FC all in action tomorrow, reports JOHN VIANNEY NSIMBE.
KCCA FC begin life after being knocked out of the Caf Champions League by Mamelodi Sundowns with a visit to Kavumba recreation centre, where they face Soana FC.
The league champions will be without defender Joseph Ochaya, who transferred to Zambian club Lusaka Dynamos last week. However, KCCA manager Mike Mutebi says they must forget about Ochaya and focus on their league title ambitions.
“We have a responsibility to defend our title and, therefore, we must focus and win our games in hand,” Mutebi said.
But after the struggles they had against Soana last season in Kavumba, a game that ended goalless, Mutebi insisted that his team must be positive to dictate play. Soana is desperate to steer clear of the relegation zone, which will make them dangerous.
Mutebi added that doing well in the league will build confidence for their Caf Confederation Cup match against Egypt’s El Masry next month.
BRIGHT STARS V EXPRESS
Meanwhile, Express has not won three successive league games this season, but coach Matia Lule hopes they can achieve the feat against Bright Stars at Mwererwe tomorrow.
Lule said: “It is a difficult ground to visit. The playing surface is challenging; so, we need to have character and the will to suffer for the result.”
However, his counterpart Fred Kajoba will be hoping to pick a major scalp in Express. In the first round, they drew goalless at Wankulukuku, but the Red Eagles are in for difficult situation at Mwererwe where Bright Stars have troubled visiting teams. The Stars recently held SC Villa to a goalless and pulled off similar result against URA earlier in the season.
VIPERS SC V PROLINE
Vipers SC exorcised the ghosts that hampered them in the Caf Confederation Cup, when they walloped Kiboga Young 7-0 in the Uganda Cup last Thursday in the round-of-16 tie. It was Vipers’ first domestic game at their new St Mary’s stadium in Kitende.
Striker Erisa Ssekisambu scored five goals, much to the delight of his coach Miguel Duarte. However, Duarte will hope for more of this in his first league engagement, to keep up with the competition for honours with KCCA and SC Villa.
Vipers is fifth on the log, 12 points behind Villa albeit with three games in hand. This leaves a lot at stake. After mauling Kiboga, Duarte said they had a tough game ahead against Proline, but he hoped that they could apply themselves well to get three points.
Duarte continued his rhetoric from the time of his unveiling that his team must win each time they walk onto the field to build a winning mentality. His target is to win some silverware, so that they return to the continent next season, since they were there for a short time this year.
Uganda Premier League
Tuesday@4pm:
Bright Stars v Express
Tuesday@4:30pm:
Soana v KCCA
Vipers v Proline
jovi@observer.ug