Prime
Young core gives SC Villa big shot
SC Villa winger Jonah Patrick Kakande avoids a tackle from Wakiso Giants defender Peter Ssenkungu. PHOTOS/EDDIE CHICCO
What you need to know:
The departures appeared to weaken the 16-time league champions who also lost playmaker Travis Mutyaba with the replacements hardly inspiring.
There was general consensus that SC Villa had ruled themselves out of title contention when they lost two of their best players from last season in Gift Fred and Charles Bbaale.
The departures appeared to weaken the 16-time league champions who also lost playmaker Travis Mutyaba with the replacements hardly inspiring.
This followed the club policy of not paying more than shs4m in sign-on fees for new players with the exceptions being Gavin Kizito, Charles Lwanga and Elvis Ngonde.
Former captain Kizito was returning after a stint in Egypt while the club also brought in Peter Onzima Cyrus Kibande, Braddy Jeans Wokorach, Hakim Kiwanuka, Simon Mukisa, Denis Ojara, Charles Batibwe and Diego Ssemugera.
Coach Dusan Stojanovic was consequently left to build the team around youngsters who struggled for consistency at the start of the season.
The club received the biggest number of summons to the African Games team with coach Morley Byekwaso who is also assistant to Stojanovic naming Patrick Kakande, Umar Lutalo, Cyrus Kibande ,Abbas Kyeyune Hakim Mutebi, Delton Oyo and Charles Batiibwe for the March tournament.
With such a youthful squad, inconsistency in the team was evident as Villa started the season with a run of one win in five games in which the decision to pick Norman Angufindru as the club’s number one was also questioned following shaky performances in the pre-season Super-8 tournament.
But coach Dusan Stojanovic stuck to his guns and was rewarded with a run of six wins in 10 games and losing only once to complete the first round.
Key to those performances was Kakande, arguably the league’s best player in the first round whose mazy runs and goals left many opponents in his wake.
SC Villa head coach Dusan Stojanovic (R) speaks to his assistant Morley Byekwaso.
The diminutive playmaker has contributed nine league goals and three assists with Umar Lutalo also providing sufficient cover with eight goals to his name.
Ronald Ssekiganda has also emerged as one of the standout players in the league during the course of the season.
The lanky midfielder's game is more than the three goals and as many assists as the statistics suggest.
Ssekiganda has impressed with his passing range and ability to control games with his outstanding ability at interceptions also coming to the fore to earn a call-up to the senior Cranes team.
This has helped Villa become the most enjoyable team to watch of all the title contenders with their free flowing style making up for their wastefulness in front of goal.
Most importantly however the style has given the club another shot at a first league title in two decades.
StarTimes Uganda Premier League
Saturday fixtures - 3pm
Nec vs. SC Villa
Vipers vs. Mbarara
Kitara vs. Gadaffi
Maroons vs. KCCA
URA vs. Bright Stars
Wakiso Giants vs. UPDF
