Were the Eagles aided?
Jul 08, 2007
JAMES BAKAMA<br><br>THE 2007 Super League will best be remembered not for the largely one horse title race, but the cut-throat relegation battle.
JAMES BAKAMA
jbakama@newvision.co.ug
I SAY SO
THE 2007 Super League will best be remembered not for the largely one horse title race, but the cut-throat relegation battle.
At one point it seemed that the unbelievable was about to happen. Uganda’s most popular club, Express FC, was going to be relegated.
The cornered Red Eagles then took a decision they should have opted for months earlier. They signed coach Sam Ssimbwa.
Ssimbwa’s credentials were just exactly what was needed to salvage the Wankulukuku side.
It’s not very long ago since he transformed Mbale Heroes from ordinary participants to cup winners. The ex-international right winger also has a lot to show from Rwanda Premier League side Atraco FC.
The proud target worker that Ssimbwa is, he indeed lived up to his word by pulling off a last ditch act that saved the Red Eagles.
But as Express toast, they should also be happy that off-pitch occurrences could have also had a bearing on their survival.
First, was the mysterious failure by their main relegation battle opponents Mbale Heroes to turn up for a match against URA.
I only hope Mbale’s coach Jimmy Muguwa, a former Express player and coach, had nothing sinister to do with the no- show.
True, URA were riding high, but you can’t rule out upsets in football.
When it came to appointing the medical man to prove the authenticity of claims of a diarrhoea attack amongst Heroes players, the task was given to Express doctor Ronald Kisolo!
Then KCC, who were supposed to be the Eagles’ toughest hurdle against the drop, instead did the opposite.
KCC walked straight from a strike to unsurprisngly lose to Express.
But that is all now history. What matters now is that the Red Eagles have another chance to soar in the Super League.
jbakama@newvision.co.ug
I SAY SO
THE 2007 Super League will best be remembered not for the largely one horse title race, but the cut-throat relegation battle.
At one point it seemed that the unbelievable was about to happen. Uganda’s most popular club, Express FC, was going to be relegated.
The cornered Red Eagles then took a decision they should have opted for months earlier. They signed coach Sam Ssimbwa.
Ssimbwa’s credentials were just exactly what was needed to salvage the Wankulukuku side.
It’s not very long ago since he transformed Mbale Heroes from ordinary participants to cup winners. The ex-international right winger also has a lot to show from Rwanda Premier League side Atraco FC.
The proud target worker that Ssimbwa is, he indeed lived up to his word by pulling off a last ditch act that saved the Red Eagles.
But as Express toast, they should also be happy that off-pitch occurrences could have also had a bearing on their survival.
First, was the mysterious failure by their main relegation battle opponents Mbale Heroes to turn up for a match against URA.
I only hope Mbale’s coach Jimmy Muguwa, a former Express player and coach, had nothing sinister to do with the no- show.
True, URA were riding high, but you can’t rule out upsets in football.
When it came to appointing the medical man to prove the authenticity of claims of a diarrhoea attack amongst Heroes players, the task was given to Express doctor Ronald Kisolo!
Then KCC, who were supposed to be the Eagles’ toughest hurdle against the drop, instead did the opposite.
KCC walked straight from a strike to unsurprisngly lose to Express.
But that is all now history. What matters now is that the Red Eagles have another chance to soar in the Super League.