Vipers suffer blow in title race after loss to Villa

Vipers SC title chase suffered a major setback on Saturday after falling to rivals SC Villa at Muteesa II Stadium, Wankulukuku.

In what was the first loss for coach John ‘Ayala’ Luyinda since joining Vipers SC last year, the Venoms succumbed to a 1-0 loss.

Charles Lwanga scored the lone goal of the game, coming towards the end of the first half.

Vipers SC came into this game, two points ahead of NEC FC who won their game against Express FC on Thursday and thus needed a response to re-establish their five-point lead.

However, they faced a resilient SC Villa side who have been impeccable at Wankulukuku this season and haven’t lost at home to the Venoms since 2021.

Both SC Villa and Vipers missed key players with Jogoos captain Ronald Ssekiganda missing due to injury while the Venoms were without midfielder Abdu Karim Watambala who had accumulated yellow cards.

The home side started off better and Hillary Mukundane was in the right place to bail out his partner Rogers Torach whose howler had gifted Patrick Jonah Kakande.

The Jogoos broke the deadlock at the 40th minute mark after a good passage of possession.

Elvis Ngonde fed Kakande through the middle and the diminutive forward flicked the ball into the path of Lwanga who slotted the ball past onrushing goalkeeper Alfred Mudekereza.

In the second half, Vipers made efforts to at least salvage a point but Villa defended resolutely to claim all three points.

Even when Vipers brought on Abubakali Walusimbi, Isaac Ogwang, Kenneth Kimera and Grant Matsiko, they failed to make better impact.

The result now means Vipers are top of the table on 49 points, two ahead of NEC FC with nine games to play.

SC Villa on the other hand moved up to seventh place on 30 points.

In the other game played on Saturday, Mbarara City and BUL FC played out a goalless draw at Kakyeka Stadium.

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