Bright Stars shine to send Express into UPL drop zone

Bright Stars forward Ronald Ssempala was on the scoresheet at Kavumba as Busoga United went down 3-0 yesterday. PHOTO BY JOHN BATANUDDE

What you need to know:

  • Soccer. Coach Paul Kiwanuka’s side were in good nick with a 3-0 win in Kavumba whereas Tooro breezed past Wakiso Giants yesterday.
  • Tooro are a place and four points below Express following a 2-1 win over visiting Wakiso Giants in Fort Portal. The league resumes tomorrow with two games on card including Onduparaka’s clash against Express.

Saving for a rainy day is one of life’s lessons often taught but sadly often comes back to haunt many.

As Busoga United faced off with Bright Stars in the StarTimes Uganda Premier League (SUPL) at Kavumba yesterday they appeared to fall in the latter category enroute to a heavy loss to Bright Stars.

The Jinja based side lost 3-0 with their coach Abbey Kikomeko admitting they struggled to match Bright Stars’ intensity following a heavy downpour that started shortly before kickoff.

“We struggled a bit because of the rain and the boys didn’t follow instructions,” Kikomeko admitted after the game. And as his team struggled, the Stars, particularly debutant Muwadda Mawejje shone to ensure they moved up three places into 11th position and out of the relegation places.

Playing architect
The winger set up Ronald Ssempala for the opener after a neat give and go that allowed the striker to connect home before crossing for Jamil Kaliisa who showed composure to round goalkeeper Rogers Omedwa for the second goal in the second half.

Joseph Janjali then further compounded the goalkeeper’s misery with his long range effort bouncing in front of him for the third goal.

“We installed a must-win mentality but are also always looking for various ways of motivating the players,” coach Paul Kiwanuka said of the result that was his side’s fourth win in six games since taking charge.

The result allowed his team to jump three places to 11th and sending Express into 14th and occupying the final relegation spot on the 16-team log.

Tooro are a place and four points below Express following a 2-1 win over visiting Wakiso Giants in Fort Portal. The league resumes tomorrow with two games on card including Onduparaka’s clash against Express.

STARTIMES UGANDA PREMIER LEAGUE

Yesterday’s results
Tooro United 2-1 Wakiso Giants
Bright Stars 3-0 Busoga United

SUPL TABLE

P W D L F A Pts
Vipers SC 20 14 4 2 29 10 46
KCCA FC 21 14 2 5 40 20 44
SC Villa 20 9 7 4 26 17 34
URA FC 20 8 9 3 22 14 33
Onduparaka 20 9 3 8 27 18 30
BUL FC 20 8 6 6 22 17 30
Busoga Utd 21 9 3 9 24 22 30
Mbarara City 20 7 5 8 20 21 26
Wakiso Giants21 7 4 10 21 23 25
Maroons 21 6 6 9 25 32 24
Bright Stars 21 5 8 8 19 22 23
Police 20 7 4 9 27 30 22
Kyetume 20 7 1 12 15 29 22
Express FC 20 6 3 11 24 33 21
Tooro United 21 5 4 12 14 34 19
Proline FC 20 6 3 11 12 33 15
*Police FC were docked 3 points, 3 goals
*Proline FC were docked 6 points, 6 goals