Vipers share responsibility in defeat, must beat Kirinya

Team effort? Vipers’ players discuss tactics ahead of their encounter with KCCA on Tuesday. PHOTO BY ISMAIL KEZAALA

What you need to know:

  • Soccer. Vipers lie in sixth, six points behind Azam Uganda Premier League leaders Police following a 3-1 loss to defending champions KCCA on Tuesday.

KAMPALA.

Local derbies do not come bigger than SC Villa and Express. The two face off tomorrow.
Of course a glance at the Azam Uganda Premier League (AUPL) table hardly reveals any rivalry.
SC Villa are serious title challengers in third with 22 points, just one behind leaders Police, while Express are third from bottom with 11 points, both having played as many games.
The fixture in Masaka will count on the traditional animosity to sparkle on the same day defending champions KCCA and Proline serv us what is expected to be some spectacle at StarTimes Stadium.
Yet none of the aforementioned fixtures is likely to have an air of anticipation and uncertainty like Vipers at home to Kirinya-Jinja.
Coach Miguel da Costa’s men come into this home match on the back of only one win in the last seven matches, the latest a 3-1 defeat to KCCA on Tuesday, which left them sixth on 17 points.
All three goals from Muhammad Shaban (brace) and Derrick Nsibambi were in part helped by atrocious defending but Vipers midfielder Moses Waiswa refuses to apportion blame.
“We are in this together,” he said, “It’s always a team effort whether you defend well or score a lot of goals.
“We all have a responsibility to defend, it is not only the back four.
“The fact that we really want to score means we sometimes open up a little bit at the back, but it is the whole team’s responsibility if we concede.”
Waiswa and his midfield partner Tadeo Lwanga, who struggled to assert authority against KCCA, prefer to now look forward to correcting all their mistakes against Kirinya.
“We are all disappointed about Tuesday’s game but we have a chance now to change that starting tomorrow,” said Waiswa.
Lwanga agrees. “We have a great spirit and we are mentally strong to get out of this situation against Kirinya,” he said.
“We have to rely on what we have done over the last three months and not what happened to us on Tuesday.
“We have not lost our football ability and l strongly believe we shall respond with a quality performance on Friday.”