Hamz Cup: Man United Fans Fail To Hit Maximum Points Target As Lwanga Inspires Born Talent To Upset Keri Investments
Man United Fans FC 0-0 Tulibulala Family FC
In front of a massive crowd at Hamz Stadium, Nakivubo War Memorial on August 19, Man United Fans FC endured a frustrating evening as they failed to be clinical in front of goal.
On the other hand, Tony Lwanga led Born Talent FC to a dramatic 3-1 comeback win over a shorthanded Keri Investments FC.
The biggest game of the day drew thousands of supporters who started arriving as early as noon and continued streaming in until around the 30th minute of the match, which kicked off a few minutes past 7:00 p.m.
In the main fixture, the home side started brightly by creating good chances and maintaining good form, yet their strikers were completely lost when it came to finding the back of the net.
In the early minutes, forward Richard Sonko was presented with a clear opportunity after shaky defending in front of the Tulibulala goal left him with only the goalkeeper to beat.
However, the wasteful attacker smashed the ball more than 30 feet over the bar instead of attempting a simple chip. A few minutes later, another chance came in the same area, but it was comfortably collected by the Tulibulala goalkeeper.
At the other end, Man United Fans survived largely due to solid defending led by Roll Royce Victor Kazibwe and Paul Lukyamuzi, who consistently intimidated the opposing attackers and kept them quiet.
In the second half, the team managed by Kayongo Fashions introduced their top scorer, Muhammad Kasule, in place of Sonko. After his introduction, Kasule looked dominant but lacked intelligence in key moments, as he kept making the wrong decisions. He struck the crossbar once and fired straight at the goalkeeper on several occasions.
The game eventually ended with a team that had more than the required number of players, totaling around 30, failing to score a single goal to give maximum joy to the fans who had been jubilating for all 90 minutes.
The supporters, however, took the disappointing evening lightly, as the team still progressed to the Round of 16 with 7 points from 3 matches.
Lwanga Inspires Born Talent Comeback
Earlier before the main game, Born Talent FC pulled off a major comeback against Keri Investments, a side that paraded big names of former Uganda Cranes players such as Vincent Kayizzi Walugembe, Diego Hamis Kiiza, Robert Ssentongo and others, with Ivan Bukenya managing from the touchline.
After a goalless first half, the star-studded side broke the deadlock through Felix Angudri, who had come on in the 32nd minute. He tapped in Kayizzi’s low cross in the fourth minute of the second stanza.
From that moment, Born Talent stepped up their intensity and found the task easier following Diego Hamis Kiiza’s dismissal in the 70th minute.
Seven minutes later, Tony Lwanga scored a well-executed free kick, curling the ball with his left foot from midway on the right flank, just a few steps outside the 18-yard area, to send it into the top corner. Four minutes later, Lwanga put his side in front after running onto Elkana Nsubuga’s well-timed through ball.
With one minute left to the regulation time, Patrick Mukuza brilliantly found Elkana Nsubuga on the left edge of the 18-yard box. The tall box-to-box midfielder took on three opposing players before bending the ball into the top right corner. The Kampala Regional League club thus advanced to the next stage, while Keri Investments bowed out.
Following the mixed day of action, the tournament continues on the evening of Thursday, August 20th, with Akright City taking on Parkview FC at 4:00 p.m., and Block F facing Namutamba Ndaiga at 7:00 p.m., as the sides vie for the second-to-last slot in the knockout stage.