Wananchi save selves in late hockey drama
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Emmanuel Baguma (R) wheels away in celebration with teammate Innocent Tumukunde as umpire Dulf Musoke confirms his equalizer against Weatherhead. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
The players struggled to bring the match to life in the afternoon heat but even then, it was not devoid of chances.
Emmanuel Baguma’s drag flick with the last touch of the match helped Wananchi to a 1-all draw with defending champions Weatherhead in the National Hockey League (NHL) in Lugogo on Saturday.
The players struggled to bring the match to life in the afternoon heat but even then, it was not devoid of chances.
Wananchi also hugely missed their playmaker Shafik Byamukama, who suffered a career threatening head injury during the Easter tournament but is now on the path to recovery.
His absence was largely the major sub-plot of the game; would Wananchi find ways without him in big games or would they struggle? The answer was clear as the afternoon’s sun.
Both sides were guilty of messing up their penalty corners and Wananchi, the most wasteful of them, started to stare at defeat in the 43rd minute when they let Colline Batusa, unmarked at the top of the circle, fire the opener into the top right corner.
Wananchi tried all solutions with their penalty corners but Jackson Musinguzi and Martin Okello struggled to execute.
With about 16 seconds on the clock, Wananchi ventured forward more in hope than conviction. They won a penalty corner just in time to beat the buzzer and this time, Baguma, who is arguably Lugogo’s top talent of his generation stepped forward and flicked the ball to his left and past the Weatherhead defence to send the stadium wild.
That edge of the seat moment that left Wananchi second on 10 points – three behind Weatherhead – was the perfect way to send the fans into a more exciting encounter between Badgers and Kampala Hockey Club (KHC) Originals, who also shared spoils with a 2-2 draw.
Badgers took an early fourth minute lead through Shafiq Abdul and there was no reply until the 40th minute when Albert Kimumwe equalized. Badgers reclaimed the lead in the 50th minute through Ronald Akiira but Originals captain Francis Epilo top circle shot from a penalty corner secured a point. Badgers are now fourth with eight points while Originals are just behind them on seven.
Penalty corners
KHC needed more penalty corner luck on Sunday, when their other side Stallions beat Rockets 2-1. Jordan Mpiima was the executioner this time with a first half brace that was halved by Ronald Okethayot with a 37th minute consolation. Stallions are now third on the table with nine points from four games while Rockets dropped to sixth on six.
In another interesting encounter, before that, Timothy Hamya scored in the 58th minute to earn Makerere University their first win of the season against the wasteful Thunders.
The win ensured Makerere did not slip to the bottom of the table as they had earlier feared when Weatherhead Titans ripped City Lions apart in a 4-1 beating.
Emmanuel Makumbi, Jjuuko Kwagala, Martin Owako and Paddy Kafeero all scored for Titans as they secured their first points of the season after five games.
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Men’s Results
Wananchi 1-1 Weatherhead
Badgers 2-2 KHC Originals
WHD Titans 4-1 City Lions
Makerere University 1-0 Thunders
KHC Stallions 2-1 Rockets
Table
Teams P W D L F A PTS
Weatherhead 5 4 1 0 35 3 13
Wananchi 4 3 1 0 30 3 10
KHC Stallions 4 3 0 1 20 4 9
Badgers 5 2 2 1 10 12 8
KHC Originals 5 2 1 2 9 16 7
Rockets 5 2 0 3 13 13 6
City Lions 5 2 0 3 7 13 6
Makerere University 5 1 1 3 6 18 4
Thunders 5 1 0 4 10 18 3
Weatherhead Titans 5 1 0 4 5 41 3
