Chasers clash as Sharks travel to Masindi for anointment
Magic bullet. KQ's Shamirah Nalugya has finally started to add goals to her creativity thereby reducing the pressure on Kunihira and Nandede to find goals with regularity. PHOTO/ JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
FWSL FIXTURES
TODAY, 4PM
Lady Doves vs. She Corporate, Masindi
UMHS vs. Kampala Queens, Lubaga
UCU vs. Tooro Queens, Mukono
Rines vs. Kawempe, Wakiso
TABLE
She Corporate 12 7 5 0 17 7 26
Kampala Queens 12 7 4 1 15 8 25
Uganda Martyrs 12 7 2 3 19 13 23
Olila High School 13 5 4 4 12 7 19
UCU Lady Cardinals 12 5 3 4 14 9 18
Kawempe Muslim 12 4 2 6 11 14 14
Tooro Queens 12 2 6 4 6 8 12
She Maroons 13 2 4 7 5 10 10
Lady Doves 12 2 4 6 9 18 10
Rines SS 12 1 4 7 6 20 7
Uganda Martys High School (UMHS) entertain rivals Kampala Queens (KQ) in yet another Fufa Women Super League (FWSL) clash that will check the title credentials of either side in Lubaga today.
Third placed UMHS should be stronger, at least on paper, than the unit that drew 2-2 with table toppers She Corporate as they welcome back coach Rogers Nkugwa and forward Brenda Munyana from suspension.
UMHS have the most forwards in the league and can afford to rest or switch any of them. The trust in their forwards shows in the fact that they have scored 19 goals in 12 games - more than any other club.
However, their porous defence, is the fourth leakiest in the league only 'bettered' by basement sides Lady Doves, Rines and the struggling Kawempe Muslim.
"I am proud of how our forwards work and their never say die attitude but we still need to score more goals," Freda Ayerango, UMHS's assistant coach, said in the aftermath of their late equalizer against Corporate.
"However, we need to polish certain things in our defence because we shall need to work extra hard in to win our next game (today)."
Ayerango knows that KQ pose almost the same goal scoring threat from their wide forwards Margaret Kunihira and Zainah Nandede.
But it is the recent form of midfielders Shamirah Nalugya and Zainah Namuleme that makes KQ an even more steady force.
The control in KQ's midfield offers cover for what looks like a shaky defence on paper.
The trick for either side could lie in how quick they get to and pin back each other's defence.
Mental test
Meanwhile, the table topping Sharks go to Masindi, where they can mathematically put paid to Lady Doves' 'title defence' with a win and get closer to having the baton handed to them.
Doves have not put up a realistic challenge for their title as they claim to be rebuilding but are one She Corporate win away from losing the defending champion tag.
But more than taglines, Corporate need to show the mettle that has eluded them since 2016, when they tried unsuccessfully to challenge Kawempe for the title.
The Sharks have in the past choked in the face of serious title competition and with KQ and UMHS breathing down their necks, it's time for the Nakawa-based side to show even more grit and mental resilience.
Elsewhere, the disappointing Uganda Christian University (UCU) Lady Cardinals entertain another defensively sound side in Tooro Queens in Mukono.
Tooro have scored a paltry six goals in 12 games but have conceded just eight.
If UCU continue with their streaky scoring form, they risk to slip further away from the title in another potential banana skin.
Kawempe also visit Rines SS at Kabaka Kyabagu Stadium in Wakiso hoping for more reprieve on the road.
Kawempe is yet to win at home but have recorded four wins on the road. After scoring three past KQ in that 4-3 loss, coach Ayub Khalifa will be hoping the struggles to find the back of the net are past them now.
