SC Villa give KCCA food for thought

KAMPALA.

KCCA went into the mid-season break as leaders but not in a way they will particularly be proud of.

The champions wound up their first round games with a 1-0 away loss to URA in Lugazi on Saturday. The result that left them with 32 points and just one ahead of second placed SC Villa before the two month lull.

“We should have finished the first round in a much more comfortable position but a few lapses in of games denied us that opportunity,” manager Mike Mutebi is quoted having said on the club’s website.

His team had been second best for large parts of the game but only fell behind in the 86th minute through URA substitute Peter Lwasa’s headed goal.

The result should help ease the pressure on URA coach Kefa Kisala whose team is now 10 points behind the leaders after an indifferent first round that has seen them draw 10 of their 15 fixtures.

KCCA meanwhile suffered their third loss and collected one point from their final two games having escaped with a 1-1 draw against Sadolin last week.

At Nakivubo, Villa, who also drew their previous game against URA were the biggest winners with a Vitalis Tabu penalty and substitute Fuadi Ndayisenga’s first goal for the club giving them a comfortable 2-0 win over Kirinya- Jinja.

Despite gaining some ground on the leaders having won 10 of the last available 12 points, Villa coach Shafiq Bisaso welcomed the break.

“We have played nine games in 14 days and my players were clearly exhausted,” he explained while defending his team after they earned their fifth penalty in six games.

“The penalties are being awarded because we were creating the most chances in the league,” he added.

Vitalis Tabu who missed his previous spotkick against Vipers, scored after Ivorian striker Olivier Boue Bi who impressed on his first start, was brought down in the 18-yard box before Mike Ndera crossed for Ndayisenga for a late second.

Elsewhere, Onduparaka’s fairytale season continues with the newcomers jumping into third position following a 1-0 win over Sadolin, only the second away victory from their Betway Grenlight stadium in Arua.

UPL Saturday results
B. Stars 3 – 0 Police
Lweza 0 – 0 BUL
Proline 2 – 2 Saints
Sadolin 0 – 1 Onduparaka
SC Villa 2 – 0 Kirinya Jinja
URA 1 – 0 KCCA

AZAM UPL TABLE
P W D L F A Pts
KCCA 15 10 2 3 27 14 32
SC Villa 15 9 4 2 28 17 31
Onduparaka 15 6 7 2 16 14 25
Vipers 15 6 6 3 17 11 24
Soana 15 6 5 4 18 12 23
URA 15 4 10 1 18 12 22
Bright Stars 15 4 8 3 17 14 20
Express 15 4 7 4 17 18 19
Lweza 15 3 9 3 15 15 18
Sadolin 15 3 8 4 8 10 17
Saints 15 4 5 6 12 16 17
Proline 15 2 10 3 19 22 16
Police 15 3 5 7 10 22 14
BUL 15 2 7 6 9 15 13
Kirinya Jinja 15 0 9 6 4 11 9
JMC Hippos 15 1 4 10 9 21 7