STARTIMES UGANDA PREMIER LEAGUE
The Date: February 09, 2020
The Contest: Bul FC v Vipers SC
The Time: 4:00pm (Live Sanyuka TV)
The Venue: Njeru Technical Centre, Jinja
Vipers Sports Club are keen to quieten the growing talk of pressure from their critics by restoring the five-point advantage when they lock horns with Bul FC away in Jinja at the Njeru Technical Centre on Sunday (February 9).
Closest challengers KCCA clawed back into contention of the StarTimes Uganda Premier League (SUPL) title race with a narrow 2-1 win over Maroons at Lugogo earlier this week to bring our lead to just two points.
But coach Fred Kajoba’s inspirational pep talk before the match and instructions on the day should inspire the Venoms to victory over a side they have lost to just twice in 17 meetings.
Vipers’ first loss to the BIDCO Uganda Limited-sponsored team was back in the 2013-14 Uganda Premier League season when the cooking oil manufacturers defeated us 2-1 at Kakindu Stadium.
But aside another solitary loss (a 1-0 defeat in the 2015-16 season) and a handful of draws, Vipers have built a reputation of dominating encounters between the two sides with the last result being won 3-1 by Kitende-based side on December 19, 2018 in Njeru.
Being clinical
But despite Vipers’ good record against the hosts, coach Fred Kajoba knows there is a thin line between staying on track and losing one’s way in a title contest. The gaffer is preaching ‘being clinical’ going into the tie.
“Everybody who goes to play Bul in Njeru knows that they will get a difficult game. That’s why we want to focus on being at our clinical best because Bul is a game where you want to take the points and consolidate the league lead. But you know we will need to fight to get the maximum points.”
Vipers SC tactician, Fred Kajoba
Victory will restore normalcy and take Vipers to 49 points from 21 matches with just nine matches left in the campaign – with the next match being a humdinger of clash against archrivals KCCA on February 18 at St. Mary’s Stadium, Kitende.
The statistics corner justifies how we have bossed this fixture over the years.
Head-To-Head
Meetings: 17
Vipers Wins: 10
Draws: 5
Losses: 2
Goals For: 20
Goals Against: 9
Points Attained: 35
Team News
Defender Bashir Asiku is back after recovering from an ankle problem he picked last month during a training session. Having missed six competitive matches, Asiku showed full recovery during a practice match against Lweza FC on Wednesday.
But the match has come a little too early for striker Muhammad Shaban, who is in the final recovery stages of the meniscus injury with a possible return likely at the backend of this month.
Livingstone Mulondo recently underwent successful surgery and is in the rehabilitation process with an anticipated four to six months duration on the sidelines.
Youthful Karim Watambala is also a doubt for the trip to Njeru following a knock he suffered during the 1-0 win over Onduparaka as well as the trio of skipper Halid Lwaliwa (knee problem), Siraje Ssentamu (tight hamstring) and Farouk Musisi, who is scheduled to undergo a CT scan to determine whether or not he will need surgery on his troublesome knee.
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.
When was our start in Uganda premier league