Police’s Namaisi Recounts Mixed UPL Debut

Police FC new signing Steven Namaisi has expressed mixed feelings after making his long-awaited Uganda Premier League (UPL) debut as the Cops drew 1-1 with Mbarara City.

Namaisi marked his maiden appearance in the top division with a decent performance capped with an assist in what was also his first competitive game for the UPL side he joined only a few weeks ago.

After five seasons in the FUFA Big League, the former Kataka captain has always been eager to play in the UPL , and when he finally did, he started and went on to feature for the whole 90 minutes.

Namaisi made his impact felt within the opening 30 minutes of his UPL debut, but he hoped for much more than that. The feeling for him was bittersweet.

“I’m a bit disappointed that we conceded that goal and we had to share the points at home. I believe (defensively) we could’ve done better as a unit to protect our lead,” Namaisi told the SportsNation after the game.

He added: “But I’m also excited that I had my UPL debut, and I’m proud that I afforded to get an assist too.”

“All the support from my teammates, the fans and the trust from the coach has given me the confidence I needed, and now I’m looking forward to our next game.”

How It Happened

It’s the home side that scored first at the Kiira Road Police Arena, with Namaisi assisting Jjemba Abud Shakur to put Police in the lead in the 26th minute.

Police got advantage of a throw-in near the box, well aware of the threat Namaisi is in such a situation, the Ankole Lions retreated quickly to make numbers guarding their goalkeeper.

The throw-in specialist, instead of rocket-launching the ball to the box like he usually does, opted for a quick short pass to Dennis Kalanzi, who held the ball for a few seconds before releasing it forward for Namaisi who was overlapping on the right hand side.

The rightback, with so much precision and intention laid the ball back for Jjemba to score with a simple and fine tap-in, putting the hosts ahead in the 26th minute.

A defensive lapse in the second half saw the visitors equalize with just 15 minutes left on the clock. A short corner was taken quickly, catching the Police defense unprepared to deal with the danger.

For Mbarara City’s equalizer, it was former Police defender Reagan Matege who returned to sting his former paymasters.

Matege rose highest, beating Benon Tahomera who was assigned to mark him to head-in from close range and the goalkeeper Mathias Muwanga had no chance at saving that.

The two sides settled for a 1-1 draw at full-time, but Mbarara City were most impressed with the result, travelling back to Mbarara with a point, while for the home side, it was two points dropped.