As far as declarations of harsh intent go, Express F.C’s 2-1 loss against Soana F.C at home in their last game of the first round was more re-sounding.
The red eagles, for all intents and purposes were dominated. It was a bit of strange one, at the final whistle; Soana F.C players threw their hands in air while the hosts dropped to their knees.
The game meant that the Wankukuluku based club had played seven games without tasting victory.
The abject performance saw the club dropping from 4th to a lowly 8th position with 21 points by the end the first round.
It is clear among even the most die-hard Express fans that their team does not carry that superiority complex they had when Simon Sserunkuma was around.
Short of the considerable talent of the adroit midfielder, the red eagles have struggled to find their rhythm.
If the match against URA FC had proved that Express’s attacking thrust is no longer ruthless or fluid,their display against Soana F.C confirmed that exact point.
While Express has simply steamrollered past many of the teams at the launch of the season, the wining team was faltering by the end of the first round.
The loss of Sserukuma’s directness, terrestrial threat, and pace on the counter had left Wasswa Bbosa with the unequivocal acknowledgment that his team would need to look for alternative sources for goals.
Obviously Simon is a big loss in terms of the fear he put into the opponents’ heads ahead of games. But we will just have to find goals from somewhere else and our tactics will adjust accordingly. Fans will see us playing a slightly different style of football in the next round. We’re a different team now and we will shape it differently. We’ll be more compact in midfield.
The change in tactics has thus far seen the team as a whole seek a more all-inclusive play that does not cast exceptional attention and demand on any individual, the way it was with the now Simba attacker.
Emmanuel Kalyowa is the closest to a spearhead the team has; the former SC Villa man surprisingly featured more as a dangerous substitute on most occasions-rather than a starting XI player.
Willy Kavuma’s central positioning has made service lines and supply agents from the midfield all more critical. In that regard, his contribution to the team by adding more goals is inadequate.
Julius Ogwanga who can switch roles with Emmanuel Kalyowa has been disturbed by on and off injuries and is yet to deliver.
The former Masaza product has had an off-color start. His main weapon is to carry the ball out wide on the flank, beat his marker to the by line and lay crosses in the box. He failed to do that in any of the games he played.
Ssebuguzi ‘Butcher’ Eric started the season on a high but his form took a nose-dive with each passing game. John Ssemazi still lacks league experience as Wasswa Bbosa told Kawowo in an interview.
“I will be looking to Kalyowa, Ogwanga and even Godfrey Lwesibawa to contribute more goals between them. The defenders will contribute few from set pieces too.”
Unless the red eagles pursue a calculated strategy of back to back wins, they can finish on a lowly like last season.