UPL: Villa, Ndejje in delicate affair

In-form: SC Villa striker Ronald Magwali is the man to watch. Photo by Eddie Chicco

What you need to know:

  • Ndejje have further been boosted with news over the weekend of Anwar Ntege and Steven Ategeka scoring for Tooro in the Fufa Drum. It promises to be a real battle.

Kampala. Normally, Uganda’s most successful side - SC Villa - should be fending off other title challengers with four matches to go, or simply coasting to the gong. But we are talking some 15 years ago, when the record 16-time champions won their seventh straight league title, which was incidentally their last.

Today, with four matches to wrap the 2018/19 StarTimes Uganda Premier League (SUPL) season, SC Villa host Ndejje closest to the drop than the top half of the table.

Administrative changes, two coaches in one campaign and an exodus of playing staff at the start of the season; this was only going to be a time to try rediscover the club’s soul. SC Villa come into into this match at Namboole sitting just one place and three points above relegation and Ndejje. Victory for Villa coach Douglas Bamweyana’s side would stretch the gap between them and Ndejje to six at 30, while the reverse would see the duo go level and further complicate survival chances.

“We hope we can eliminate the individual errors affecting our results,” Bamweyana, whose side drew 1-1 at Express last week, told Daily Monitor. “We just need to get the results rolling - which we’ve proven that we can do - on a good day - free of individual errors.

“We have adopted a slightly different strategy to support our players in different phases of play to eliminate exposing individuals and work more as a team to secure a positive result.” There is one realisation that Bamweyana will not hide from, however; ahead of next season, regardless where they end.
The squad will, inevitably, have to be heavily boosted if Villa are to reclaim their former self.
“I’ve come to an honest submission that we don’t have the qualities of players to deliver the kind of football we want - without individuals making one too many errors!”

Yet, in Ndejje University SC Villa face a very difficult side, who come into this game on the back of a four-match unbeaten run, including a 3-1 win over Nyamityobora in their previous game. The period also seems to have coincided with a return to form of Ndejje forwards, with Isaac Kisujju opening his account with a brace against Nyamityobora.

Ndejje have further been boosted with news over the weekend of Anwar Ntege and Steven Ategeka scoring for Tooro in the Fufa Drum. It promises to be a real battle.

UPL fixtures today

SC Villa vs Ndejje Namboole, on Sanyuka TV - 4pm
Kirinya-Jinja SS vs Paidha : The Mighty Arena - 4:30pm