A Bul FC player dribbles through Nec FC players during a Saturday match. Photo | Courtesy
What you need to know:
- Bul beat Nec to stay top, unbeaten SC Villa keep up the chase, and Vipers part ways with Denis Lavagne. But a floodlight failure at Lugogo and a serious injury that overshadowed Blacks Power’s thrilling win supplied the weekend’s darker moments.
Bul continue to set the pace in the StarTimes Uganda Premier League, but SC Villa are refusing to let them settle.
Matchday Seven delivered goals and drama through the week and at the weekend, although some of its defining moments had little to do with the scorelines.
Bul beat Nec 2-1 midweek to move to 19 points from seven matches. Villa punched back the following day, beating Mbarara City 2-0 to remain two points behind the leaders and extending their unbeaten start to seven games.
Five wins, one fewer than Buls’ and two draws have kept the Jogoos firmly in the early title conversation, with the leaders slightly feeling the pressure to maintain their early-season authority.
At Vipers, the wait for consistency has cost Denis Lavagne his job. The club parted ways with the Frenchman by mutual consent, barely three months after his appointment.
Their goalless draw with Police at Kitende on Friday night preceded the announcement, bringing another coaching change at a club accustomed to competing for domestic honours but just falling short on the continent.
Darkness at Lugogo
KCCA’s meeting with UPDF at Lugogo lasted just eight minutes before floodlight failure forced an abandonment.
Efforts to restore lighting proved unsuccessful, cutting short a fixture that had promised another test for a KCCA side seeking to extend its winning run.
The league must now determine the next step, while the incident raises fresh concerns about matchday infrastructure.
Blacks Power’s 3-2 victory over URA in Bukedea produced the weekend’s most distressing scene.
Dissan Galiwango scored twice for URA, but Innocent Maduka, Emmanuel Janan Okech and Oscar Otim secured the hosts’ fourth win of the campaign.
Distressing scenes
The result was overshadowed by Ivan Okello’s serious leg injury. The youngster had just entered the game when URA’s Norman Namanya was sent off for a foul from behind that left Okello with a compound fracture.
An ambulance evacuated him for treatment after a lengthy stoppage. Blacks Power later reported that he was out of danger, with further assessment by an orthopaedic specialist expected.
Blacks Power climbed to fifth on 12 points. Their victory was significant, but the overriding hope is that Okello recovers well.
Matchday 7 results
Bul 2-1 Nec
Maroons 4-1 Kataka
SC Villa 2-0 Mbarara City
Blacks Power 3-2 URA
Vipers SC 0-0 Police
Lugazi 0-0 Express
Kigezi HomeBoyz 0-1 Entebbe UPPC
KCCA vs UPDF – abandoned after eight minutes
Kitara vs Ntugasaze – postponed
Matchday 8 fixtures
Tuesday, October 27
Police vs Kigezi HomeBoyz
SC Villa vs Blacks Power
UPDF vs URA
Express vs Kataka
Nec vs Ntugasaze
Wednesday, October 28
Entebbe UPPC vs Maroons
Mbarara City vs Vipers SC
KCCA vs Lugazi
Kitara vs Bul – date to be confirmed
amwanguhya@ug.nationmedia.com