Fresh from a long journey to Vietnam, SC Villa will have to shed off jet-lag, if they are to neutralize the threat posed by Vipers SC tomorrow at Nakivubo stadium in the return of the Uganda Premier League (UPL), writes JOHN VIANNEY NSIMBE.
At the beginning of this week, management at SC Villa wrote to the UPL requesting that their game with Vipers SC in round 13 of the 2016/2017 season be postponed. Villa cited a delay in their flight from Vietnam but the UPL turned them down.
So, the Jogoos have no choice but to get on with it. However, seeing their recent scoring form before the league took a three-week break, Villa should be in good stead to mount a challenge against one of their most bogey sides.
Villa’s last victory over Vipers was a 3-1 win in 2009. But since Shafiq Bisaso was elevated to Villa’s coach, the Jogoos have been high-scoring. In Villa’s last five games, they have scored 12 goals, won four and lost one. And to Bisaso, that is the kind of mentality he is building his team in – to be offensive.
In fact, he has insisted on playing a 4-4-2. This is not a formation that has worked around these parts commonly over the last five years, though. But Bisaso insisted it is the most suitable one for his players to play the expansive game he espouses.
Yet all that has come at a cost. In those five games, Villa has conceded nine goals, signaling a weakness in defence. In Villa’s last league outing against Bright Stars, they won 5-3. Some fans argue that one cannot win a league unless one defends well.
But Bisaso is not worried: “Once we keep our opponents on the back foot, attacking them relentlessly, they will not come close to our goal easily.” Yet, one can bet on coach Abdallah Mubiru’s Vipers to disregard that.
Today @4pm
Bright Stars vs URA FC- Matugga
Kirinya vs Lweza FC- Bugembe
Tomorrow @4pm
BUL FC vs Soana- Kakindu
Express vs Sadolin – Wankulukuku
KCCA FC vs Proline FC- Lugogo
Police FC vs JMC Hippos- Kavumba
The Saints vs Onduparaka- Bombo
Vipers SC vs SC Villa- Nakivubo