Africa-Press – Uganda. And so St Mary’s SS Kitende are champions for the 12th time after beating St Henry’s Kitovu 1-0 on Saturday.
Kitende went into the final at Nyakasura School in Fort Portal City as the best team in the schools’ tournament and head coach Dan Male said “nobody wants to be remembered as the best team never to win the trophy”.
With a sporting mortality in sight of overtaking Kibuli as the record winners with 11 titles now, most of the fans chose to celebrate every good touch or move Kitovu made but Male said after the final whistle that their football was the only barometer by which they can be measured.
An early goal from eventual top scorer Abdulnoor Nsereko in the first half cemented Kitende’s status as the kings of schools’ football.
As expected, it was a tightly contested affair, but when Kitende went ahead courtesy of Justin Opira’s long throw, Kitende threw everybody in defensive positions relying on counters as they continued chasing revenge for the only loss in the tournament.
“Our plan worked just the way we wanted. Score an early goal and make them chase. We know we are a big team and they could not catch us,” Male explained.
So how good are St Mary’s Kitende? Well, they have won the fourth title on the trot.
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Kitovu, who have been in existence for a century, have never been to this stage but produced some of the best moments in the tournament.
They were only 90 minutes away from snatching the huge silver trophy had they completed a double over Kitende in Fort Portal.
“A final against Kitende is not the best gift for any team, honestly as they have very experienced players,” Fred Kasekende, Kitovu’s coach, said.
“We did all we could do and I am not disappointed with the performance of my players. This is a young team and we shall bounce back stronger,” Kasekende said.
He explained that only two players; Emmanuel Tumusiime and Marvin Bulega will leave the team as they complete A-Level this year.
The two finalists have qualified for the East African games in Huye, Rwanda. They will be joined by third-placed Royal Giants Mityana, who beat Amus College 4-2 in the classification game and defending champions Kibuli SS.
“Depending on the participation of other countries, we may have special invitations to another team,” Justus Mugisha, the president of the Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Association (USSSA), the organisers of the event, announced.
Important step
Frank Mulindwa, the head coach of Royal Giants believes earning a place in the East African games is an important step for his team following a sweet 4-2 victory over Amus College.
“We have been building for a long time and reaching this stage is an important step,” Mulindwa said.
Royal Giants, who won the Pan-African Caf U15 championship, presented a strong side led by skipper Issa Bugembe, pacy winger Elvis Sekajugo and forward Annest Ankunda as they shuffled the status-quo of the dominant schools.
USSSA Boys U20 championship
Third-place play-offs
Royal Giants 4-2 Amus College
Final
Kitende 1-0 St Henry’s Kitovu
Individual awards
MVP: Allan Oyirwoth (Amus)
Top scorer: Abdulnoor Nsereko (Kitende)
Best goalkeeper: Shamulan Kamya (Royal Giants)
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