FUFA Big League: CRO hold Saints at home

By Vision Reporter

FUFA Big League leaders Saints FC were held to a goalless draw in Mbale by relegation-threatened CRO whose previous straight wins had helped them steer clear of the bottom.

Saints were chasing a third successive win but that run proved an impossibility against an in-form CRO side that looked determined to climb out of the danger zone.

The visitors drew first blood, 10 minutes before the break, thanks to a finish by Kasirye Muhamed from a cute cross from lead striker Fred Kyambadde.

Muhamed scored against his former club, having moved to Saints in the latest transfer period, and he appeared delighted by his strike by running around the pitch in front of a subdued home crowd.
 

The two sides did not meet in the first round which was to be played at the home of Saints – Namboole Stadium.

That match would have helped both sides study the other ahead of the second round encounter, and the effect of not playing that earlier game showed. Saints were low on tempo and were ineffective on the attack.

They were eventually punished for their lethargic display after restart when CRO leveled the score.

And considering the gulf in form between the two teams, the hosts appeared more contented with a stalemate than their superior opponents. Yet Saints had come into the game determined to win and stretch their lead to nine points ahead of their nearest table challengers Jinja Municipal Council.

The leaders’ centreback Mubiru Aziz missed the game, suspended for accumulating more yellow cards than necessary and their fullback Denis Rukundo was recovering from an injury.

The referees took the wrath of the visitors, who blamed the officials for making poor decisions during the encounter. Saints were particularly critical of decisions made over offside.

Saints’ Indiefi Kamada and Alex Kitata came on for Joseph Kasekende and Tonny Magala in the second half, and their introduction added energy to the visitors who were highly lackluster in the first half.

They threw their men forward, but that force was not good enough for goals.

Another late substitution saw Fred Kyambadde replaced by Jordan Tamale, but that change did not affect the end result.