Moses Basena opened up his Uganda Premier League account as The Saints head coach with a resounding victory over Bul FC on Tuesday.
The former KCCA, Simba, URA and Villa coach who ‘controversially’ lost his first game as The Saints coach in the Uganda Cup to the same opponent started on a good note in the league.
Second half goals from Fred Agandu, Owen Kasule and an own goal from goalkeeper Emmanuel Kawowa ensured the man who ‘hates losing’ came out the victor of the two tacticians and was delighted to kick start his mission of rescuing The Saints from relegation on a high.
“It was a nice game because the result was good” Basena said “Football is all about utilising your chances and punishing your opponent, because if you don’t , you instead get punished. We did exactly that and scored the three important goals” he added.
Prior to Tuesday’s win, The Saints had lost twice to Alex Isabirye’s charges. The first came under George ‘Best’ Nsimbe’s stewardship in the league in August and most recently in the Uganda Cup at the Round of 32 where they lost 5-4 on penalties in what Basena calls a ‘controversial’ game.
“They beat us controversially in the Uganda Cup so it was a motivation for us. The players were well prepared for the fight”
Basena and his side are 14th on the table so it definitely puts them in the relegation battle.
The coach who also serves as the Cranes assistant, however, is convinced his side will stay put in the league come next season .
“Look, I have done it before. I did it with Simba last season. It was tight but we managed to survive relegation. Here at The Saints, we have a motivated and an interested coach and players too but we know what we up against. For me , its the motivation and the desire to win that makes up a player. If the player is not motivated enough, then they don’t deserve to play for us. The games are winnable. There’s not so much difference in the league except for KCCA, Vipers and URA. The other teams are more on the same level.”
The Saints next task is a league game against Soana FC who recorded a 2-1 victory over Sadolin yesterday in Jinja.
The Saints lie 14th on the table with 13 points.