- Black Pirates 24-23 KOBs
It was a tension-filled atmosphere at King’s Park Arena in Bweyogerere as an old rivalry was revived in the Uganda Cup semifinal between the Pirates and KOBs.
Both sides approached the game cautiously, with nerves coming to the fore right from the start as William Nkore did not find the required 10 meters into the KOBs’ half with his kick off. The resulting scrum set the pace for the rest of the game, as both packs were evenly poised, with no clear advantage to either side on that particular set piece.
It wasn’t until the 9th minute that fullback Ibrahim Khemis broke the deadlock through a penalty kick to give the KOBs a 3-point lead. What followed was a stroke of genius from Stuart Mwayi, who boxkicked from the halfway, deep into Pirates’ half. A bizarre fielding moment from Jeremiah Okello followed by a lucky bounce of the ball into the oncoming Mwayi’s path saw the scrumhalf extend KOBs’ lead to 8 points.
Okello, who was having a tough day out on the wing for the Pirates, then redeemed himself through a try in the corner, which was converted by his captain, Isaac Massa. The hosts then took the lead for the first time in the game through a well-worked team try that was scored by Jones Kamiza.
Just before the break, the KOBs attacked once again, and this time the two starting props combined to put the KOBs ahead. Collins Kimbowa, standing at first receiver, tipped off a beautiful short ball to Blair Ayebazibwe who dived over just under the poles for an easy conversion.
It is this never-say-die attitude of the KOBs that the Pirates vice captain Frank Kidega was wary of. “At no moment did I know we had won until the end. A team like KOBs you can not write them off until the end,” noted Kidega, who also described the encounter as ‘a pressure game.’
His opposite number and captain of the KOBs, Simon Makumbi, felt like his team could have done better on the day, especially their kicking game.
“At some point, the Pirates had already allowed. Our kicking is always on point, but today we just fell short on most conversions. We promised we would do better, we do not want to win games by those small margins, we want to beat teams hands down,” noted Makumbi.
That kicking came back to bite the KOBs in the second half when Khemis failed to exit his half, choosing to go for a grabber kick which was charged down by the Pirates. Scrumhalf Conrad Wanyama picked up the pieces and ran for his life to the try line, leaving behind a captain Makumbi who found himself in a mismatch of pace.
Khemis soon found his boot and pulled back 3 points for the KOBs, but this wasn’t enough as the Pirates had already extended their lead to 24 points through a Desire Ayera try and Nkore Conversion.
A 50/22 touch finder by Khemis put the KOBs in a prime attacking position, which they capitalised on through a Benjamin Muwanguzi try. The conversion, in a point-blank range, wasn’t successful and it made this a one-point game at 24-23 for the hosts. Proper game management for the Pirates ensured the score stayed that way until full-time.
The Pirates are now off to the Uganda Cup final to play Heathens on the 6th of December, 2025.