Whoever saw the Vipers SC players slobbering over the Uganda Premier League (UPL) trophy on the final day of the season last Friday, they could have thought it was easy, what they had just achieved.
But far from it. On match-day 13, two games to the end of the first round, Vipers lost 1-2 to URA FC in Kitende, and were eight points behind log leaders SC Villa, who were high flying at the time.
Even though Vipers managed to close that gap to six points on match-day 15, which marked the end of the league’s first round, the general feeling was that Vipers were out of the championship reckoning.
However, one major mid-season decision turned out to be the inspiration that saw Vipers turn the league upside down.
DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALLÂ
Out of the blue, Vipers hired Eddy Butindo as their director of football. Initially, this was a decision that was criticised, because the feeling was that there would be a clash with Portuguese coach Miguel Duarte Da Costa.
Football directors normally have philosophies, which may not necessarily rhyme with what the coach wants. Besides, Butindo had not handled a top level side since 1996, when he coached SC Villa, a season that turned out to fruitless for the Jogoos.
Apart from handling kids in the Kampala Kids League, Butindo was considered to be out of touch with the rigours of top-flight football.
Surely, what would Butindo bring after all that time missing in action? Remember, Vipers had seven wins, five draws and three losses in the first round.
SIGNING ‘MUZEYI’Â
Perhaps the thought that Butindo was out of touch was baseless, because soon after his unveiling, he engineered the signing of Dan ‘Muzeyi’ Sserunkuma. Having coached Sserunkuma through the Kampala Kids League team back in 2003, Butindo knew Sserunkuma quite well.
Above anything, Butindo knew the scoring threat Sserunkuma posed. He would instigate a revival in Vipers’ potency in front of goal. Vipers only scored 18 goals in 15 matches in the first round.
Considering that Sserunkuma had been Express FC’s lifeline (scoring six of the team’s eight goals in the first round) amid all their problems, such as players being unpaid for months, in a better environment, he would thrive.
And the influence of a new environment showed from the start. On Sserunkuma’s league debut for Vipers, he scored on 87 minutes, to give them a 1-0 win over Soana FC. But remember, on the same day URA was beating Vipers in Kitende, Sserunkuma missed a last minute penalty for Express against Soana FC. Express lost 0-1.
Although that Sserunkuma missed penalty plunged Express further into the abyss, his opener for Vipers opened the floodgates. Sserunkuma has scored 11 league goals for Vipers, and ended the season as top scorer with 17 goals.
This is a performance that perhaps puts him in pole position to be announced as the UPL 2017/2018 Most Valuable Player. A Subaru Forrester in all likelihood awaits him on the awards night organized by the league sponsors, Azam TV.
But more importantly, Sserunkuma’s contribution to Vipers’ cause is in the detail: He scored in eight of the 15 league games. But in these games, Vipers earned 13 points from some of Sserunkuma’s goals that proved decisive.
OTHER PLAYERS
While Sserunkuma has been instrumental in Vipers’ cause, some of his teammates raised their game too especially in second round. Erisa Ssekisambu, who had not been firing on all cylinders in the first round save for a couple of penalties he converted, stepped up.
Ssekisambu’s goal decided the URA game in Namboole while Milton Karisa’s persistence inspired their 3-2 win over KCCA, after he bagged a brace. But generally, Vipers’ overall game improved in the second round. Goals came from across the team compared to the first round.
Vipers had ten different scorers. From these, they changed from a team that had scored 18 in the first round, to one that scored 32 goals in the second round. In the same period, KCCA scored 26 while SC Villa scored only 12.
Paul Mukatabala, Villa’s assistant coach said that competing with Vipers was always going to be futile, seeing how regularly they scored goals compared to them.
The defence, which was manned by under-20 internationals, Wasswa and Bashir Asiku also improved. They only conceded nine goals compared to the 11 in the first round. Deposed champions KCCA conceded 12 goals compared to the nine in the first round.
MULINDWA FOCUS
This season, Lawrence Mulindwa was determined to ensure that Vipers’ partners like DFCU bank, Roofings and Hima Cement, got mileage from their sponsorship. Therefore, the team had to do well.
According to inside sources, Mulindwa had never been so interested in the team’s progression like he was this season, beginning with the grand unveiling of players last September.
It is said that the attention to Vipers, is the reason the St Mary’s Kitende school team under-performed at the Copa Coca-Cola in Mbarara recently.
In addition, because Vipers last won the league in 2015, Mulindwa ensured that the team was highly motivated with incessant incentives. Recently, after Vipers beat UPDF, Mulindwa pledged to give the players Shs 1 million each, if they beat Villa in the Uganda Cup.
Further still, Mulindwa gave his head coach Da Costa a blank cheque on team matters. It is the reason why some players like Tony Odur could be frozen out for bad displays. Also, the other coaches, including Edward Golola, Edward Ssali and also Richard Wasswa in the background, all worked in tandem.
AWAY FORM
Of the possible 45 points, that any team can win in away fixtures, Vipers showed more resolve, when they played away from Kitende, bagging 27 points. Last season, when they finished third in the league, they only earned 19 points away from home.
KCCA, who were league champions then, collected 26 points away from home. This time, KCCA’s points collected away from home dropped to 22 while Villa could only manage 20 points, when they played away from Masaka this season. By all counts, a team cannot rely on home form alone to win the championship.
CHALLENGERS SLIPPED
In the same breath, once Vipers beat Villa 1-0 in Masaka and KCCA 3-2 in Kitende, the writing was on the wall. Villa was also affected by in-house fights involving their coaches, and lacked a top quality striker, that would consistently score.
For KCCA, dropping points against the likes of Masavu and Mbarara was telling. It is also argued that KCCA suffered from the departure of experienced players like Geoffrey Sserunkuma, and injuries to Muzamir Mutyaba, Derrick Nsibambi and Sadam Juma.
Other players like Denis Okot and Paul Mucureezi were not in their element, something attributed to the hangover from success in both the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 seasons. Manager Mike Mutebi, who fielded a number of the team’s academy boys this season, has had to give them time to mature. Inevitably, that also comes at a cost.