In what is our first-ever Stanbic Uganda Cup quarterfinal in our history, we take on Police FC, the runners-up from last year, in our quest for our first-ever championship at the very top level of Ugandan football.
While history doesn’t favor us, we find solace in the fact that we feature in a higher division than Police FC, who find themselves in the quest for promotion back to top-flight football. They missed out on the chance for an immediate return when we took the opportunity and qualified last year after just a season in the Big League.
Coming into this quarterfinal, both teams are certain that there is no chance for a second round, but rather a possibility of penalties after an extra 30 minutes. This makes the tie a highly competitive one, where nothing is left to chance.
Cup Dominance:
With three games played, we have purely dominated all the ties leading up to the quarterfinals after two away visits and a five-star performance on our home turf in Lugogo. These top performances have seen four goal scorers combining for a total of 8 goals. Kaynja Brian opened the scoring in Mbale before setting up Kavuma Marvin for our second victory at the Mbale Municipal Stadium in the R64.
In the R32, Joseph Dhata took home the official Matchday ball, Zakayo, after a hat-trick against Acholi United, while our young talent; Kaye fought hard to set up Gadafi Wahab for his first-ever NEC FC goal. Kavuma Marvin doubled his tally in the competition with a beautiful finish just after the center half-line in the R32 as we put five goals past the helpless Acholi United.
In the R16, we were drawn against Busoga United, whom we had completed a league double against. Surely, we made it three straight wins in this fixture after an ever-present Joseph Dhata capitalized on sloppy defense to power a shot past the goalkeeper. This goal took his tally to an impressive 4 goals in this tournament.
With such an impressive run, we look forward to continuing and progressing to a double-tier semifinal for the very first time.
A Look at Police FC:
Police finished as runners-up last season in the Stanbic Uganda Cup when they faced a Vipers team coached by Musongola, who further denied them any happiness through Milton Karisa’s goal in Lira.
Since then, Police FC have regrouped and are taking on the Big League with all they have, having lost just one game, drawn 7, and won the most of any club in the league this season, with 11 victories and collecting 40 points from the 19 games played as they lead the summit in the quest for top-flight football next seaon.
Police will be keen on not losing their qualification this year and will be calculative coming into this quarterfinal, well aware that they still have unfinished business in the quest for qualification. With Lugazi, Mbale Heroes, Kataka, and Blacks Power closing in on them, balancing and being calculative will be on the cards ahead of this fixture.
They are next to none in regards to scoring within the Big League, and that’s a point for Coach Mbalangu and his staff to be keen on, while their defensive record isn’t as bad either.
The Rivalry:
Police hasn’t forgotten the fact that we took what would have been their place in the Big League last season, and the anger of losing to us for a qualification spot makes this encounter, regardless of being in a different tournament, a great rivalry.
On aggregate, we still hold the upper hand, having won 2-0 at home in our first-ever encounter, while they avenged with a 1-0 win in Kavumba. Coming into this encounter, they will find solace in the fact that we are paying them a visit at their home ground; however, playing in the top flight can’t just be ignored.
What Coaches say:
Mbalangu: Please find the YouTube links below for our head coach as he faced the media ahead of this encounter.
Broadcast and Kick-off:
The live broadcast will be on FUFA TV, with Mr. Otai Peter set to sit in the commentary box. The game will kick off exactly at 1500 hours from Kavumba.