Wounded Bul want quick revenge on NEC

Nec head coach Hussein Mbalangu has added salt to injury after stating that his side is travelling to Njeru today to inflict more pain on Bul in the first leg of their Uganda Cup tie.

The two sides, gunning for a local double, were involved in an ill-tempered league contest at Lugogo on Wednesday night in which Nec won 1-0.

The hosts left their home in Njeru last week on top of the Uganda Premier League table but return today sitting third and battered courtesy of the Nec loss.

The Jinja side tried to put a smile on their fans’ faces by unveiling Jinja City Queens as their official women’s team on Thursday but the mood in the camp was still damp. 

Ordinarily, that move could be interpreted as preparation for the continent but they must win either the league or cup to reach there.

They registered a double loss in that fixture after their coach Abbey Kikomeko received a red card for violent conduct against the officials while protesting a string of what he thought were refereeing errors.

However, Kikomeko will be available today as the suspensions in the league don’t carry on to the cup but he decided to reserve his comments until after the game.

His counterpart Mbalangu is brimming with confidence as he hopes lightning strikes twice as they seek to carry a first leg advantage to Lugogo next week.

“We shall try to change the approach because this is a two-legged cup fixture which is a bit different from the league,” Mbalangu told Sunday Monitor.

“They were a very good side but are now wounded and will want to come for revenge so we have to carry different approaches to frustrate them early because we want the win to avoid pressure in the second leg,” Mbalangu added.

Stanbic Uganda Cup 

Semifinal

Sunday’ fixture – 3 pm

Bul vs. Nec – Fufa Technical Centre, Njeru

(Live on Fufa TV)