Stubborn Olila seeking more

Olila High School (OHS) have built a reputation of being tough to beat.

They are, however, also disappointing at times. 

Last season, they won just five matches and drew seven times in 18 matches but in there were two draws against record champions Kawempe Muslim and then holders Lady Doves plus a 1-0 away win at Uganda Christian University (UCU) Lady Cardinals that showed a solid unit of players.

They heavily relied on the finishing power of Grace Aluka to grind the results that got them finishing 5th ahead of Kawempe and Doves last season but she has now moved to Kampala Queens.

The club's vision bearer and owner Professor Deogratius Olila described last season's perfomance as "good" and believes the team "has grown a lot and should be expected to compete for the cup."

OHS have maintained most of the players they had from the last three or so seasons so there is a lot of understanding from within.

Their coach Saddam Pande is excellent at managing expectations. Since 2016, he has never been shy to say when his team is good enough to compete and when they just need to ensure safety as was the case last season.

"I think he has also been growing as a person and as a coach over the years. We expect more from him every season but we are overly happy with what he has achieved," Olila said.

Pande won the Fufa Women Cup in 2017 but had to rebuild his team with players that only had the National Post Primary matches under their belts as their stars like Fazila Ikwaput, Norah Alupo, Vanessa Karungi and Riticia Nabbosa moved on.

Quest for consistency 

The question this season is whether the team that will now rely on the industry of Cecilia Apiding can put up more consistent performances to upset what looks like a galaxy of stars being gathered at Kampala Queens and the huge levels of confidence at She Corporate.

In there, Bira Nadunga, Gillian Akadinda, Marion Amangat and Siporosa Amonding among others have enough seasons in them to be classified as experienced players but they need to pull their weight and play more to the sum of their abilities.

Nadunga, especially, now needs to become a leader in defence but Olila might need to fend off any interest from other clubs. 

She has been exceptional as an individual earning herself call ups to national teams at all levels. She now needs to channel back the lessons to club and show organizational skills for her side to get to the next level.

Club: Olila High School

Captain: Marion Amangat

Coach: Saddam Pande

Home ground: Soroti Stadium

Major titles: Fufa Women Cup 2017