StarTimes Uganda Premier League
SC Villa 1-2 Tooro United
Mandela National Stadium, Namboole
Tuesday, 30-04-2019
NAMBOOLE – SC Villa’s miserable season continued on Tuesday afternoon as the record league champions succumbed to yet another defeat in the StarTimes Uganda Premier League.
In the game played at the Mandela National Stadium in Namboole, Villa who are yet to secure their top tier status, relinquished a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 at home to Tooro United.
Villa took the lead through former captain Ambrose Kirya but Tooro responded with two second half goals of their own thanks to Baker Buyala and Allan Kayiwa.
Villa started the stronger of the two sides, asking all the necessary questions and would soon find the breakthrough on 8 minutes via an Ambrose Kirya strike from distance.
The home side could have doubled their lead but Kirya failed to connect with a Pius Wangi cross, just after the half hour mark.
With things not going their way, Tooro United called for the first substitution of the game on 34 minutes as John Byamukama replaced the ineffective for Paddy Muhamuza.
As fate would have it, 5 minutes after making a tactical change, Tooro were forced into another as Alex Ssemuyaba came on for the injured David Ssali.
Despite the changes, the visitors could not assert themselves onto Villa as the first half ended with the Jogoos in control and leading 1-0.
At the resumption of the game, Tooro looked a rejuvenated side and two minutes into the second half, Bakar Buyala headed them level off an Isa Mubiru cross.
Villa who came into the game having lost 9 games already, looked to have gone into panic mode and were conceding chance after chance whilst failing to create anything meaningful at the other end.
On 57 minutes, Byamukama sent a delicious cross into the box but Buyala’s goal-bound header deflected off Shafick Bakaki and went out for a corner. From the resultant kick, Mike Kawoya headed wide while uncontested in the area.
The first yellow card of the game was shown to Kawoya for a clumsy foul on Joseph Ssemuju.
At the hour mark, Villa made their first substitution which saw top scorer Bashir Mutanda come in for Wangi.
Eight minutes later and in search of creativity in the final third, Villa head coach Douglas Bamweyana introduced Mike Sserumaga in place of the below-per John Adriko.
Moments after Sserumaga came on, Tooro struck again to take their first lead in the game. Musa Mukasa sent a cross from the right, into the area and Kayiwa connected neatly with the ball, beating Villa custodian Yusuf Wasswa who had rushed off his line.
As Villa went all out in search of an equalizer, they were always suspect on the counter and were nearly made to pay for their lack of numbers at the back, but were lucky as Buyala failed to connect with a Kayiwa cross before the ball came to the feet of Byamukama, who in-turn shot straight at Habib Kavuma enabling the Jogoos to clear their lines.
At the other end, Douglas Owori tried his luck from distance but Tooro United goalkeeper Joel Mutakubya was equal to task as he pushed the ball out for an unfruitful corner.
With 10 minutes to play, Buyala got a chance to put the game to bed as he found himself in acres of space in the Villa area but blazed the ball over.
The closest Villa came to scoring an equalizer was on 88 minutes but Kirya’s goal-bound free-kick was headed out for yet another unfruitful corner by Mukasa.
In the end, Villa succumbed to a 10th loss of the season, leaving them on 31 points for the season.
The Jogoos remain only five points ahead of 14th placed Ndejje University who take on Onduparaka on Wednesday, in thwir Match-Day 29 fixture.
For Tooro, they climb into 3rd on the log after accumulating 48 points from their first 29 games.
The other games played on Tuesday
-Bul FC 3-1 Mbarara City FC
-Maroons FC 0-0 Kirinya JSS FC
