SC Villa turn to history to hastily get over first home loss

MASAKA.

Villa assistant coach Paul Mukatabala was a lethal forward back in the early 1990s when the Jogoos made Masaka Recreation Grounds a fortress.
He remembers that even when they lost only three league matches - Dairy, Nsambya and KCCA - they won trophies with his Mu-Mu (Mukatabala- Magid Musisi) at their devastating best.
That rich history formed a large part yesterday’s morning recovery meeting that had players receive a pep talk from the technical team and club president Ben Misagga.
“It wasn’t our day and the boys’ morale went down. We have told them that the title dream is still on,” said Mukatabala.
After visiting Mbarara City next week, Villa will play again at Masaka against Jinja SSS before hosting Bul, games they consider ‘winnable’. “The next home games give us great hope that we can revive our winning formula at home.
“We had to lose a game at one point but it is the urgency with which we rise up that will matter at the end,” he added. The former Cranes forward had decried the profligacy exhibited by Villa forwards George Ssenkaaba, Alex Kitata, Martin Kizza and Yubu Bogere on Tuesday that granted Vipers a 1-0 victory. Until Vipers hit-man Dan Sserunkuma put the nail in Villa’s coffin, the Jogoos had only drawn with Maroons and won all the other home games this season.
Yet it is the first match Villa had welcomed the biggest fan base - majority clad in club blue colours and blowing vuvuzelas - since they made the switch back to Masaka last year in March. Villa, then inspired by a Emma Okwi hattrick, reopened their Masaka expedition with 4-1 humbling of Onduparaka before assembling a 17-match unbeaten home run that could propel then to a first title since 2004.

VILLA UNBEATEN RUN
Villa 4-1 Onduparaka
Villa 1-0 Bul
Villa 1-1 KCCA
Villa 2-2 Police
Villa 1-0 Vipers
Villa 1-0 URA
Villa 1-0 Soana
Villa 1-0 Mbarara City
Villa 2-0 UPDF
Villa 2-1 KCCA
Villa 1-0 Bright Stars
Villa 1-0 Onduparaka
Villa 1-0 Express
Villa 0-0 Maroons
Villa 3-0 URA
Villa 1-0 Masavu
Villa 1-0 Police