Ugandan top-tier side Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) FC, who are on a mid-season break tour of Kenya, bounced back from a defeat to Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions Gor Mahia on Saturday by beating Tusker FC by a solitary in an entertaining match played at the Ruaraka Grounds on Monday 22nd January afternoon.
Steven Serwadda scored the lone goal for the visitors in the 33rd minute after Allan Okello capitalized on a defensive blunder by Apollo Otieno to lob the ball to Serwadda who beat Duncan Ochieng for what was to be the winner.
Tusker paraded a number of new signing in both halves; including Peter Nzuki who joined from Nakumatt FC, Timothy Otieno from Gor Mahia, Mathew Tayo Odongo from Kariobangi Sharks, Edwin Lavatsa from Bandari amongst other and coach Sam Timbe says he is working on building a formidable unit.
“We lost around 14 players – that’s half the team and we have a lot of new ones. I have got to teach them my philosophy and it is not easy, it takes time. We started poorly in the first half but I am happy with how they responded in the second half. I am building a team and it requires patience,” he said after the match.
Best league in East Africa
KCCA FC Assistant Team Manager Byekwaso Morley was full of praise of the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) terming it as the best league in East Africa.
“We thought it would be wise to bring our players to Kenya for a good midseason break programme since the country is home to some of the best teams in the region that is Gor Mahia, Tusker FC, Sofapaka and AFC Leopards. Our Ugandan players are also naturally smaller compared to their colleagues in Kenya and we therefore thought it would be a good test and very beneficial to the team,” he said,
“The KPL has really grown over the years and it’s the best league in East Africa right now. It has produced some of the best players in the region and therefore the friendly matches are good for our players to learn. We were shocked when we lost to Gor Mahia in our first match against Gor Mahia but we rectified our mistakes and the win against Tusker FC proves it,” he added.
The team will continue its Kenyan tour with a game against AFC Leopards on Wednesday 24th January afternoon at the Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos.
