Tuesday, May 30
*Bright Stars Vs Vipers, 3pm
(Aggregate 0-4)
Uganda Premier League champions Vipers will be seeking to reach a Uganda Cup final for a third consecutive time when they visit Bright Stars in the semi final return leg at Kavumba on Tuesday.
The Venoms, who are fresh from winning the Uganda Premier League, head to Kavumba in a celebratory mood.
They were declared champions on the final day of the season on Saturday, following a dramatic end that saw them snatch the trophy out of Villa’s hands.
And they are on course for a double this season, which will be their first in the history at the club.
They took care of Bright Stars 4-0 in the first meeting at Kitende a week ago, on a day Bright Anukani scored spectacular goal right from his own half.
But despite that advantage heading to Kavumba, their head coach Alex Isabirye revealed that they are not taking their opponents lightly.
“I know the game won’t be easy since we lost to them 1-0 in the league. Yes we have already won the league but my players are taking everything professional,” Isabirye said.
“We are not taking the game lightly and all we need is maximum points.”
Against Bright Stars, the task at hand for Vipers will be getting any positive result to see them reach the finals, but even a 3-0 loss will see them though.
And Isabirye, given his experience in any cup game, will task his men to stage a better performance just like they did in the first meeting.
On the other hand, it will be an up hill task for Bright Stars when they welcome Vipers at Kavumba.
The Asaph Mwebaze coached side miserably lost 4-0 in the first leg at Kitende, on a day they will live to forget.
At Kitende, they looked poor throughout and were even lucky not to have conceded more.
That aside, they even lost 5-0 in their last league against KCCA over the weekend, to add to their woes.
And now, they must be near to perfect on tuesday, do the unthinkable if they
are to turn things around.
Bright Stars beat Vipers 1-0 at Kavumba in the league this season and Asaph Mwebaze’s side will draw inspiration from this result.
Any of the two sides that progresses will meet Police FC, who already ejected Adjumani TC to reach the finals.
It’s strong to note that this year’s final will be held in Lira at the Aki bua stadium for the first time in recent times.
