Rines, Tooro register first wins of term

Yasmeen Nalukwago’s solitary goal was enough for Rines to beat Kawempe Muslim 1-0 on Tuesday in the Fufa Women Super League (FWSL).

Kawempe had on Sunday beaten She Maroons 2-0 courtesy of Phionah Nabulime and Asia Nakibuuka’s goals but their coach Ayub Khalifa had warned that the player burnout would catch up with them.

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“It is not ideal but we would rather play than give walkovers,” Khalifa said at Luzira Prisons on Sunday - just 48 hours after he had led the U-17 national team to a 2-2 home draw with Ethiopia in the first round of the Women World Cup qualifiers.

Kawempe has seven players in that U-17 squad while Uganda Martys High School (UMHS) Lubaga makes up the majority wth eight. On Tuesday, both teams turned up buoyed to put FWSL points on table before they break off to allow the 15 players return to camp in Njeru for preparations ahead of next week’s second leg against Ethiopia.

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Instead something gave as both Kawempe and UMHS lost their home games against Rines and Tooro Queens 1-0 respectively. “Our attack was too slow and that is because the players are young. I think we will struggle to win games with such an attack but the kids will grow game by game,” Khalifa said.

Rines coach Bright Nyanzi was delighted to have his first win which took him to five points in as many games.

Elsewhere, Sumaya Komuntale’s close range thunderbolt enabled Tooro Queens to graduate from five FWSL draws to winning their first match.

The match had a controversial moment where Kevin Nakacwa had what should have been a UMHS equalizer ruled out under unclear circumstances.

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The midfielder had a penalty saved by Tooro keeper Gloria Namakula but when she scored on the rebound, the referee Immaculate Achiro cancelled it.

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