Preview: Mbarara City FC v Vipers SC

STARTIMES UGANDA PREMIER LEAGUE 

The Date: 28-Jan- 2020

The Contest: Mbarara City FC v Vipers SC

The Time: 4:00pm

The Venue: Bombo Barracks Grounds

Hope springs eternal at Vipers with promise that new coach Fred Kajoba will usher in a new dawn at St. Mary’s Stadium, Kitende.

Edward Golola was relieved of his duties in his third stint as head coach last week after a couple of heart-breaking losses, and club president Dr. Lawrence Mulindwa appointed Kajoba and Ibrahim Mugisha as the new men in charge of the Venoms, with trainer Edward ‘Baiano’ Ssali the only man retaining his role.

But there isn’t enough time for Kajoba and Mugisha to adapt as they must quickly find their groove with Vipers scheduled to play Mbarara City FC in the StarTimes Uganda Premier League (SUPL) away at Bombo Barracks Grounds on Tuesday, January 28th.

Golola’s undoing was going down in consecutive games, albeit in different competitions to SC Villa and Kajjansi United in the SUPL and Stanbic Uganda Cup respectively.

No time to settle in

Kajoba now, literally, has no time to settle in with the Mbarara City FC fixture of untold importance not only to the club hierarchy but also to their faithful and rivaling teams, who are eager to close in on the leaders.

Despite being four points ahead, the Venoms (42 points after 18 matches) will be under some pressure to get the monkey off their back and forthwith return to winning ways – if the title hopes are to stay on track.

“We are still in the lead and not under any pressure ahead of our next games. We are focused on working to give the team the best and the boys are fired up for this cause,” new Vipers coach Fred Kajoba, known for his motivational skills, said about how much they have accomplished so far and what they look to do as the technical team in the fixture at hand.

The reverse fixture at the St Mary’s Stadium ended in a 2-2 stalemate with Mbarara City FC skipper Hillary Mukundane leveling matters in the 82nd minute after Fahad Bayo had put Vipers in the lead.

The Ankole Lions have not beaten the Venoms since their promotion to the top flight three seasons ago. Victory on the day will be the second for Vipers against their hosts since their first meeting in 2018.

Team News:

Paul Mucureezi, if selected, will be facing his former employers for the first time since joining Vipers early this month. The forward enjoyed cult status for the Ankole Lions in an 18-month spell until December 2019 when he opted not to renew his contract.

Captain Halid Lwaliwa is back from compassionate leave following the loss of his mother but is doubtful for the trip to Bombo. The center back last featured in the 4-2 league victory over Proline during which he limped off injured in the 38th minute.

This tie comes a little too early for Bashir Asiku who is yet to fully gain match fitness despite resuming training with the team last week.

Burundian international shot-stopper Fabien Mutombora picked a minor injury during practice last week but is fine and will be available for selection.

Karim Watambala, who missed the Uganda Cup loss to Kajjansi United, too, is back after shaking off the knock.

Copyright 2020 Vipers Sports Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.viperssc.co.ug as the source.