Villa turn corner with victory over Express

Charles Lwanga rides on the back of two-goal hero Bashir Mutanda after the latter found the back of the net at Namboole on Friday. Mutanda
has scored 70% of the club’s league goals this season and will be a cause of concern for the Bul rear guard. File photo

What you need to know:

Soccer: Bashir Mutanda was the man again for SC Villa with two goals whereas Nyamityoboro found home comfort in Mbarara with a similar 2-0 win over Maroons after they played 11 games away from home.

KAMPALA/MBARARA. SC Villa might still be only four points above Ndejje, the team that occupies the final relegation spot but they are clearly now playing like a team that has turned a corner.

The Jogoos have now picked eight points in four games under new coach Douglas Bamweyana, following a morale boosting 2-0 win over traditional rivals Express at Namboole on Friday.

The result moved them to 12 points from 11 games having managed only four from the opening eight games and led to the departure of previous coach Moses Basena.
“We played well in the previous two games but I thought we did not get the results we deserved. Today the result matched the performance,” Bamweyana said after the game.

This was not their best performance of the season but certainly their biggest result having previously only managed to defeat Nyamityobora. They survived a nervous start in which Tony Odur had what is now becoming a customary miss every game that should have altered the course of the game.

But Villa recovered strongly and Derrick Ndahiro’s mazy run set up young forward Charles Lwanga who turned Isaac Mutanga before the Express defender recovered to force a corner kick.

The resulting corner saw a Yusuf Mukisa header cleared by Disan Galilwango off the line.
Villa then went ahead when David Owori’s cut back to find Bashir Mutanda. The man of the moment took a touch before thumping the ball past Express goalkeeper Ronald Mutebi.

The chances then dried up thereafter for both sides before Mutanda resurfaced eight minutes past the hour mark.
Derrick Ndahiro stole possession from Isaac Mutanga before setting up Mutanda, who found the corner of the net with another assured finish.

The strike took him to the top the scoring charts with nine goals since the loan move from Vipers to Kirinya-Jinja SS ended in the close season.

There was little goal-mouth action thereafter save for a Mike Sserumaga effort that cannoned off the cross bar.

Tooro penalty
The result left Express ninth on 16 points after 13 games.
Elsewhere, a Simon Sserunkuma penalty earned Tooro a 1-0 home win over Maroons who exchanged places with Villa.

In Mbarara, Nyamityobora celebrated their first game at Kakyeka Stadium with a 2-0 win over Ndejje courtesy of goals by Charles Ssebutinde and Alex Komakech.
“The most important thing is that we have played at home and won,” said Nyamityobora coach Asaph Mwebaze.
“This is a confidence booster and may be from here we can start having hopes that we can win more matches and gain points.” Nyamityobora had gone seven games without a win since beating Mbarara City at Kavuma Recreation grounds in October.