Ssemujju strikes as Villa fail to take Bul by the horn

Dejected. SC Villa players were left speechless after losing 2-1 to BuL in Njeru yesterday. PHOTO BY EDDIE CHICCO.

There is little belief outside Villa Park, which has itself been reduced in size over the past 18 months, that SC Villa have genuine title ambitions this season.

And as match-day 23 of the StarTimes Uganda Premier League concluded yesterday, that notion was further reinforced as Bul nicked a 2- 1 win over SC Villa at the Njeru Technical center.

The Jogoos remain 10 points behind leaders Vipers and six behind KCCA after missing a golden opportunity to force themselves into the title conversation.

They led through Ronald Mwagari on 15 minutes after the midfielder turned striker headed in Yayo Lutimba’s cross for his second goal in successive games.

Joseph Ssemujju, well known in Villa circles after a previous stint and almost unplayable all evening, then scored the equalizer before the half time.

The forward who only returned to the country late last year after a trial at Polish giants Legia Warsaw then scored the winner late in the second half after turning defender Moses Nsubuga to finish calmly after a fast break.

The win was Bul’s first since a 3-0 victory over Mbarara on November 09 that helped ease what has turned out to be slow start for new coach Arthur Kyesimira.

It meant the top three teams all failed to on match-day 23 with KCCA fluffing the opportunity to close Vipers lead at the top to two points following a 1-all draw against traditional rivals Express.

KCCA manager Mike Mutebi was highly critical of his goalkeeper and captain Charles Lukwago after he failed make a routine clearance shortly before half time.

He was then robbed of the ball by Eric Kambale before Musa Ramathan was sent off after handling the ball on the line from Doka Mweru’s effort after the mistake.

This allowed Frank Kalanda to score the resultant penalty for Express and council out Mustafa Kizza’s opener also from a penalty.

“You expect a senior player to play with comfort and experience am very disappointed we’ve lost two valuable points but at least we’ve gathered a point. This league is not over, we shall continue chasing,” Mutebi said.