Ntege praises Jamal performance but Byekwaso blames referee for defeat
Towering goal keeper Salim Jamal has been praised by both the players and KCCA technical team for ensuring the Ugandan side reigned over El-Merreikh. PHOTO BY EDDIE CHICCO
What you need to know:
Goalkeeper Salim Jamal save a penalty in KCCA’s win over Sudanese outfit El Merreikh while SC Victoria University lost to DR Congo’s CS Don Bosco.
KAMPALA- Midfielder Ivan Ntege has singled out goalkeeper Salim Jamal for his outstanding performance as KCCA recorded an impressive 2-0 away victory over Sudanese champions El Merreikh in Omdurman on Saturday.
The former Express goalkeeper saved a penalty in the second half as his side held out for a rare clean sheet for a Ugandan side playing away on the continent. Ntege who himself received rave reviews for his performance on the day believes Jamal was the difference between the two sides.
“The penalty save aside, he remained calm throughout the game even as we came under intense pressure in the second half,” he said before adding that he expects more of the same pressure during the second leg on Saturday.
“If we don’t maintain the same discipline as in the first leg then we might lose out because they (Merreikh) definitely have the ability get a result here, he noted.
There will be no rest for Ntege and his teammates, however, with the team expected to resume training this morning despite only arriving yesterday afternoon from Sudan.
Meanwhile, SC Victoria University Coach Morley Byekwaso blamed match officials for his side’s 3-0 loss to CS Don Bosco in the Caf Confederations Cup.
“The first goal was genuine, our inexperience at this level showed as we conceded early on but the second and third goals were really bad decisions from the referees,” the soft spoken Byekwaso told the Daily Monitor yesterday.
“There was a definite foul on Agere as he tried to shield the ball in the lead up to the second goal,” he said.
The decision, according to Byekwaso, to award a free kick by Davies Ogenche, the Kenyan referee, which resulted into the third goal is what riled the tactician most.
Mutyaba (Muzamir) clearly gets the ball first and I don’t know why the referee decides to give a foul, he said. “But we will return stronger for the second leg,” he vowed.
The coach also revealed that he expected Dennis Guma and Savio Kabugo to return to training today after a meeting with Simo Dubajic the club owner and coordinator Nestroy Kizito yesterday.
The players were suspended by the club after they returned late for training from the rest they had been granted by the club after featuring for the Cranes during the Chan tournament. Byekwaso, however, could not confirm the availability of Mike Sserumaga the other player who was suspended by the club after reportedly escaping from camp and returning drunk.
He will speak with Dubajic this week about that the matter. “But we have belief we can overturn the tie even without the suspended players,” he stated.
The team might, however, have to accomplish that task without keeper Benjamin Ochan who was substituted after suffering a groin injury with results of the scan to establish the extent of his injury expected today.
