Each word from Coach Mbalangu’s press conference ahead of the encounter with URA
On the strategy for URA being different from that of SC Villa: We are very happy because we are still alive and strong as usual, and we are now planning for URA.
We are ready because SC Villa is done, and now we’re planning to face URA at Hamz Stadium Nakivubo. We are very ready, and even the boys are eager to fight for victory.
On keeping the team focused ahead of the challenge in URA FC: What we’ve been emphasizing to the boys is to be ready for every game, to avoid complacency. They have so far done it very well because now they play every game as if it were a final. We know how we’ve flopped in some games due to complacency, but now the ball is in their court, and they’ve implemented what we’ve told them.
On reflecting on the past encounters with URA: We are trying to reflect on our last encounter last season; we played them at home under Coach Obua, and in the second round, they had Coach Mukasa. Now we are going to face another coach, Coach Alex Isabirye, who is a very good and tactical coach. We are trying to understand his game plan so that we can devise strategies to beat them tomorrow.
On injury concerns within the sqaud: We still have some players on the sidelines like Dhata, Barni, and Kakomo, but the rest are now okay. Even you saw when Cromwel came in against SC Villa, he scored and is now ready to face his former club.
We have some suspensions; Bayiga and Odongo have accumulated their third yellow cards in the previous game, but the rest are okay and ready for selection.
A final message to the fans: We thank our fans for the support they are providing, the vibe they give us. When you look at NEC fans, we might be few, but the way they cheer the team, they are even better than those who have thousands of fans, so we give thanks to them. We thank the management and call upon everyone to come. We know the last time in Nakivubo didn’t go well against Express, but this time we have corrected our mistakes and want to remove that poor performance away. We aim to stop it tomorrow and be stronger both at home and when playing away. So, I call upon all fans and football enthusiasts to come and enjoy football.