Don't close your eyes. The gruelling race is on!

Nail bites. Wrinkled faces. Elongated jaws. Describing the emotions characterising KCCA, Vipers and Mbarara supporters currently is a hard paper.

In a week when Mbarara City surprisingly lost 2-1 away to Kirinnya Jinja SS, KCCA lost 2-1 to URA and Vipers drew 0-0 with Onduparaka. Out of a possible maximum 15 points that KCCA could have picked in February, they managed just nine including the one defeat.

Vipers could have had a possible maximum of 18 points, but they got just nine including an embarrassing defeat to SC Villa.

After defeats to Onduparaka and Kirinya, Mbarara City only managed seven out of a possible maximum of 15 points.

February is also the month when previously faltering teams like URA, Police, Kirinya, Express and Onduparaka started to claw back in contention for respectable positions after being lacklustre in the first round.

The second round of the 2018-19 StarTimes Uganda Premier League season couldn't have been better.

Worryingly for KCCA and Vipers fans, both teams' form remarkably dipped after their elimination from the CAF Confederations and Champions League without making the group stages.

While their results have been poor, it's the performances on the pitch that have drawn most concerns. The co-incidence that Viper's Moses Waiswa; 2017-18 FUFA Player of the year and his runner up, KCCA's Alan Okello have both been shadows of the dynamic players they were last season will be a topic for another day.

Their demise has been significant as it's hard to remember the last time KCCA played its characteristic sleek flair football or Vipers, their canvassing style. The four-match touchline ban for KCCA's Mike Mutebi didn't help matters but so didn't the sackings at Vipers.

Previously believed to be a yard in front of everyone else, KCCA and Vipers are now operating at the same wavelength as everyone else. The biggest mover upwards has been URA, whose 13 points collected out of a possible maximum of 18 is the best haul during the period.

Two of their four wins in six games include KCCA and Villa among the victims. Sam Ssimbwa's four-match touchline ban it seems, served only to motivate him rather than put him down.

Now in fourth place, the tax-men are suddenly within touching distance of Mbarara City and Vipers. They could finish anywhere among the top three places.

As the leading teams have been struggling for consistency in the second round, there are a few lesser ones that have turned into dark horses in their quest for survival.

Since parting ways with coach Charles Ayiekho, Kirinya has pulled off some astonishing results, including shock wins over Police and Mbarara City. They are now in a mid-table fight with Tooro United, Express, Police and Bright Stars, which was a far cry in December.

There have been individual stand out performances that have made up for the disappointment of the established stars. Juma Balinya (13 goals), Bashir Mutanda (12 goals) and Joel Madondo (11 goals) meant absolutely nothing at the start of the season.

In fact, after being rejected by the big clubs, they only moved to their current clubs as a fall-back position. Yet, goals alone can't define Police's Balinya who is no doubt the best player in the league so far this season.

A free spirit gifted with art, flair and technique, Balinya is the reason why Police's games have attracted some of the best stadium audiences.

Villa's Mutanda and Kirinya's Madondo do not share Balinya's sophistication but they are old fashioned centre forwards who provide a cutting edge to blunt attacks.

They are exciting to the raw eye. Gone are the days when the league had a predictable ending. The hugely bankrolled KCCA and Vipers boast the largest squads but rivals have found a way around their quality. It's a credit to the improvement of coaches in the division.

Rather than bemoan the lack of talent and quality in their ranks, coaches are now giving real meaning to the class of their badges.

Finally, we have a league worth the attention and support of fans, sponsors and media alike.