Local football’s game of two halves makes a case for soul-searching, art of defending

Last week, Uganda let a lead slip through its grasp en route to losing an international friendly 3-2 at the hands of hosts South Africa. In response to the marginal defeat, interim Cranes coach, Abdallah Mubiru found refuge in one of football’s hackneyed old sayings.

The result, he opined in words that neither suggested startling naivety nor a shocking cynicism, was an indication of “a game of two halves.” You could sense the pains that he staked in arriving at the conclusion. While Cranes players had been dazzling in their ruthless sense of purpose in the first half, they “switched off” (Mubiru’s words) after the breather.

If Mubiru’s indistinctly apologetic tone did not cut much ice for some, it is because the defensive woes of his teams are especially acute.

They tend to stick out like the metaphorical sore thumb, with statistics from the StarTimes Uganda Premier League showing how Mubiru’s reputation has taken a bruising hit. Last season, he superintended over the fifth worst defence in the topflight.

In the 2018/2019 season, his mashup of methods still proved ineffective from a purely defensive perspective. Police had the third worst rearguard figures.
Put another way, 13 teams (including one that failed to beat the drop!) mustered better defensive performances than the Cops.

Yet even his loudest and most trenchant critic will admit that Mubiru delivers rather generously on his promise of a pathway to front foot tactics. He has cultivated the image of an attack-minded coach. The results of his proactive approach have always tended to be striking.

For instance, this season, his Police outfit has outscored both Express and URA (who have attacking gems like Eric Kambale and Steven Mukwala on their payroll) in the topflight.
There have, however, been dramatic and sweeping assaults on the Cops’ rearguard as a tally of 31 goals conceded in 27 matches attests.

The manner in which the Cranes gave away three goals against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana reflects a broadening of Mubiru’s defensive aperture. He will have to move swiftly to plug the gaps to quieten down critics who seem to have a lengthy shopping list of complaints.

Some have for instance questioned the wisdom of playing two central defenders (Murshid Juuko and Halid Lwaliwa) cut from the same cloth. Conventional wisdom dictates that a counterbalance be pursued. Purists too have conceded to the logic of this argument. A balance has to be struck between attack and defence.

Amid such recriminations, attention also ought to be directed to Fufa. The top brass of local football’s governing body has shown conspicuous politicking while ordering against selection of so-called ‘rebel’ players. It, for instance, makes little footballing sense why Jamal Salim Magoola has been frozen out of the Cranes setup in the wake of Denis Onyango’s retirement.

Significant energy was installed into making Magoola Onyango’s heir apparent. The endeavour had a meritorious appeal about it until Magoola became a tad too vocal for the liking of certain Fufa top dogs. The 26-year-old goalkeeper promptly became a political hot potato.

Magoola is not alone. There is also the curious case of midfielder enforcer Khalid Aucho. His recent sidelining from the Cranes continues to spawn all sorts of conspiracies. The list goes on as do striking examples of the enormous cost of such despicable politicking.

Rest assured that those pulling the strings from behind will turn to hackneyed football sayings to justify their actions. This after all is for all intents and purposes a game of two halves. We are allowed to drop our guard once in a while. No?

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Twitter: @robertmadoi