Sports Club Villa continue the continental journey on Saturday 12th as they lock horns with Jeshi la Kujenga Uchumi (JKU) FC at Namboole in the first leg of the Caf confederations cup first round match.
The Jogoos defeated Al Khartoum 2-0 in aggregate through goals from Lwanga Taddeo and Godfrey Lwesibawa in the respective legs to reach this stage.
Zanzibar on the other side have not yet tested the continental heat after their opponents-to-be, Gaborone United from Botswana failed to turn up for the tie hence Caf awarding a walkover to the islanders.
The Ugandans have been struggling in front of goal on the local scene where they have registered two consecutive barren draws against Simba and JMC Hippos but assistant coach Ibrahim Kirya promises the trend will turn to the ideal on Saturday.
“Two leg ties are very tricky especially when the second leg is away. So for us its important we take an advantage into the second game and that is by scoring goals at Namboole,” coach Kirya told Chimp Sport adding that “The strikers have been wasteful in front of goal but though we have not been conceeding either. So our work is to rectify the problem. Iam sure fans will see goals on Saturday.”
JKU FC are not a new name to Ugandan football. They faced URA FC in the Mapinduzi cup held in Zanzibar over a month ago losing 3-1.
Coach Kefa Kisala, who was with the tax collectors in their victory, ‘steals’ the secret ,” They play short passes but its not a side you can underestimate. Villa have to close them down and score early goals to distabilize their plans. These two way games are hard to predict. A team always prepares for more than one game plan.”
Villa have a full fit squad but could be without Karim Ndugwa and Yaseri Waibi due to document issues.
The aggregate winner of this fixture will meet the equivalent in the clash between Morocco’s Fath Union Sport Rabat and UMS de Loum from Cameroon.
The second leg will be played at the Azam stadium in Zanzibar on Friday 18 March.