Kasasiro boys go down fighting as they are ejected out of Caf Confederation Cup
It was a heartbreaking moment for Kampala Capital City Authority Football Club(KCCA FC) as they got ejected out of the Caf Confederation Cup despite beating Congolese side AS Otoho D’Oyo on Sunday evening.
Right from the start, things looked bad for the hosts due to the heavy downpour that made the pitch at the StarTimes stadium in Lugogo soggy for them.
Known for their trademark passing and attacking, the Kasasiro boys were in the first half of the Sunday game only relegated to kicking the ball aimlessly in a bid to get it away from the enemy’s foot.
Allan Kyambadde could not believe his team had be ejected.
Each minute that passed, things only got worse as the three goal deficit still looked distant to overcome for the homes side.
You know things were not going their way when KCCA got two yellow cards in the opening 30 minutes of the game to Musana Hassan and Peter Magambo.
However, despite all the problems, the KCCA team never bowed down. They tried all possible ways to break the opponent’s back including a penalty appeal turned down by the centre referee but all were in vain.
Allan Kyambadde fights for the ball with an Otoho player.
The end of the heavy down pour was a great sigh of relief to the home side and it was in time for recess.
At half time, a tractor was brought to try clear the pitch of water and after recess, the Kasasiro boys tried playing some football.
KCCA FC’s efforts in the second stanza paid off when Patrick Kaddu headed home a consolation goal that went past the Otoho goalkeeper who had for long proved to be a stumbling block to their efforts.
The home side was now energized but they still had a huge mountain to climb in a bid to overturn the now 2 nil deficit.
Gaffer Mike Mutebi’s introduction of Mawadda Mawejje for Julius Poloto and veteran Mike Mutyaba was an indicator he badly wanted not only to win the game but also qualify to the next stage and these added something onto the game.
Patrick Kaddu tries to go past two defenders at Lugogo.
With a few minutes to the final whistle, KCCA increased pressure on the enemy’s goal and this paid off when Allan Kyambadde was brought down for a resultant penalty that saw youngster Allan Okello sending the visitors’ goalkeeper the wrong way to make it 2 nil.
However, the job was far from over as Otoho players did everything within their means, including time wasting and feigning sickness in the remaining few minutes.
It was not long that the centre referee blew the final whistle that meant Kasasiro boys had bowed out of the Caf Confederation Cup and missed out on the chance to represent Uganda in the continental group stages for the third time in a row.
Mike Mutebi could not believe what he was seeing.
Speaking shortly after the game, KCCA FC coach Mike Mutebi praised his boys for the fighting spirit despite being ejected.
“The performance of my team was above average. You could see the other side of the team (KCCA) that believed they could do anything to change the game,”Mutebi said.
“The boys played without fear and were not carried away, neither were they frustrated.”
Asked whether the weather condition on the day was to their disadvantage, Mutebi hesitantly admitted.
Muzamiru Mutyaba tries to take the ball away from an Otoho player.
“It didn’t help us circulate the ball well as we could have done but that is just an excuse,” he said.
Mutebi said he is now focusing on home affairs after bowing out of continental football.
KCCA (Uganda) 2-0 AS Otoho D’ Oyo (Congo)
*Otoho qualified on 3-2 aggregate.
