Onduparaka ‘paying’ price for distance
Onduparaka’s Gasper Rashid in action against Mbarara FC in Mbarara last week. PHOTO BY DARREN KYEYUNE
What you need to know:
- Luckily for them that after the KCCA exertion, they pitched camp in Namungongo to prepare for their league tie against Police at Nakivubo today.
KAMPALA. Last Sunday, Onduparaka travelled over 730km from their base in Arua to Mbarara for a Uganda Cup round of 32 encounter.
They came from a goal down to beat Mbarara FC 2-1 on Tuesday via the scoring exploits of Dickens Okwi and Ceaser Okhuti following an 11-hour road trip.
Two days earlier, Livin Kabon struck late in a 1-0 victory over Kirinya-Jinja SS at the Betway GreenLight Stadium in the Azam Uganda Premier League.
After the game in Mbarara, the Caterpillars were on the road headed to Kampala for a Saturday game against league leaders and champions KCCA.
That meant a further 266.79km and four hours on the road. Their 7-0 rout at the hands of KCCA can’t be entirely equated to fatigue but it’s an angle to explore.
Yes, Onduparaka, apprentices at this level, have their flaws; among them the often attack-minded approach cherished by their director of football Leo Adraa and coach Livingstone Mbabazi.
They commit as many as six players and leave so many gaps at the back and this was brutally exposed by KCCA.
It can sometime border on recklessness as they don’t have the attacking quality and experience of Geoffrey Sserunkuma, Joseph Ochaya and Robert Ssentongo et al.
Some will even point to the ‘minor detail’ of the Philip Omondi Stadium’s astro-turf as Mbabazi side had lot 3-1 to Proline 10 days before the mauling by KCCA.
However, you cannot ignore the effect of the miles accumulated sitting on buses not designed to minimise fatigue like their captain Muhammad Shaban experienced at the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.
“We do use public means,” Anthony Afeti, the club’s chief executive officer, told Daily Monitor.
For all the thrill they have added to the local game, they do not own a van to transport these players yet and have to catch the bus.
“The distance foes affect us, you know a human being gets tired and exhausted, like it or not,” Afeti added.
“For example, it took us 23 hours to move from Arua to Kampala (through Mbarara) yet there is two days to prepare for a big game.”
Luckily for them that after the KCCA exertion, they pitched camp in Namungongo to prepare for their league tie against Police at Nakivubo today.
This is their sixth game in 20 days. “We made some changes because we are in the middle of a busy period,” Mbabazi said.
“We are playing a game every three days and yet we travel the longest distances in the league. We think it is unfair but we have to deal with it,” he added.
Thereafter, they head to Arua and do not play again till next week. This travel routine is not about to change as 11 of the 16 league teams play in Kampala and Wakiso.
There is four Jinja sides - BUL, Sadolin, Kirinya-Jinja SS and JMC Hippos - and URA -based in Lugazi - to contend with too.
