KJT triumph was a matter of time, says Coach Ssendege
Celebration time. KJT players hoist the Futsal Super League trophy on Saturday. PHOTO | GEORGE KATONGOLE
Kampala Junior Team (KJT) were crowned the Futsal Super League champions on Saturday after holding off charging Covid-19 champions Park to win their first league trophy – but it was far from easy.
Park were on the verge of securing their second title in a row but KJT had the closing two weeks to run away with the trophy on head-to-head advantage.
KJT, who started playing in the futsal league last season, left nothing to chance, squeezing life out of Kisenyi in the morning game before putting in order a stubborn Aidenal 5-2.
It was one way traffic against Kisenyi but against Aidenal, anything could have happened. KJT took an early lead but failed to put away several chances when Aidenal scored to take the game to 2-1 at the break.
For most of the game, Muhammad Ssembatya and Ismail Ssendege put faith in the same team and the wizardry of Abdallah Maawiya.
Aidenal paid the price for their aggressive approach, conceding a penalty two yellow cards. The final score reflected KJT’s dominance rendering Park’s 10-0 demolition of out of sorts Kabowa Dream a dead rubber.
An unlikely victory
Park played like champions but fell short as they struggled to score enough goals. 19 of their 62 goals came on the last day.
Then KJT ran to the top on matchday 10 after gaining head-to-head advantage over Park with a 3-0 victory. But head coach Ssendege says it was a matter of time.
“We have had most of these players for a while and they had gained enough experience for this stage,” Ssendege said.
The story is somehow strange. When the season started, Mengo were locked out for failing to beat the licensing deadline.
Confused with what to do with the players, Ssendege asked to work with KJT, the academy that has groomed most of these players.
When KJT owner Mansoor Kabugo consented, Ssendege mixed the players and the result was Saturday’s historic triumph.
The team now shifts attention to the Uganda Cup expected to start next month.
Saturday results
RoLuzira 5-5 Kabowa Dream
KJT FC 4-0 Kisenyi
Park 9-0 ASKA
Aidenal 3-2 Talent Bridge
Luzira 5-4 Kisenyi
KJT 5-2 Aidenal
Kabowa 0-10 Park
ASKA 4-3 Talent Bridge
