Tuesday April 19, 2016, KCCA vs The Saints – Nakivubo @ 4:30pm
The Saints travel to Nakivubo stadium to face KCCA minus five key players thanks to a loan agreement between the two sides.
The five are midfielders Owen Kasule and Yasin Mugume, goalie Yasin Mugabi, defender Farouq Matovu and striker Isaac Sserunkuma, who were loaned to The Saints in January. Terms and conditions demand they do not face the parent club.
The visitors’ coach, Moses Basena, who was instrumental in saving Simba from the drop last season, says the absence of the five has left them with limited options.
“It’s a big blow for us,” he told Kawowo Sports, a local sports website, “Each one of them is very important to the team’s fight as their contributions statistically suggest and we shall have limited options.”.
Nevertheless, Basena believes this can be a chance for other fringe players to show what they can offer citing an example of Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi, who took his chance when Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott got injured.
“It’s a great opportunity for other players to shine as well. We have seen it happen with Iwobi (Alex) at Arsenal when Sanchez got injured. The good thing about our team is that players are self-motivated.”
The league’s newcomers, who are fourth from bottom on the 16-team log with 24 points, lost the reverse fixture 1-0 with Nigerian import Sulaimoni Akinyemi scoring the winner for KCCA.
Meanwhile, KCCA manager Mike Mutebi has urged his players to give the fixture due attention regardless of the position of their opponents.
“We have to take each fixture serious as there are no easy games. Ugandan players aren’t so much different in quality and thus we need maximum attention to detail.”
KCCA are top of the log with 51 points and need just ten points from a remaining possible 18 to be crowned champions.