KCCA’s Byekwaso wants players to take part of the blame for poor results

Muhammad Shaban is part of a KCCA side struggling to create and score goals /KCCA FC image

UPL KCCA’s Byekwaso wants players to take part of the blame for poor results

Ndyamuhaki J Emanzi 12:13 - 10.04.2023

Record champions SC Villa are top with 43 points from 21 games, while KCCA are second with 38 points from 19 games.

Easter Sunday's 1-1 draw with UPDF FC at the MTN Omondi Stadium was KCCA FC's third straight draw since the return of the Startimes Uganda Premier League from the international break.

The team has collected a mere three points from a possible nine and is now five points behind log leaders SC Villa, who are playing like a team hungry for silverware.

The record champions are top with 43 points from 21 games, while KCCA are second with 38 points from 19 games.

Winning their two games in hand would see the Kasasiro Boys ascend back to the top of the table, but that is easier said than done regarding this particular KCCA side.

Sunday's game looked like one the hosts would run away with after substitute Tshisungu Kankonde headed in Muhammad Shaban's cross to give Byekwaso and his charges the lead in the 57th minute but a superb volley from Douglas Oyirwoth ensured the spoils were shared under floodlights.

KCCA board divided on Byekwaso
FOOTBALL

21:47 - 09.04.2023

FOOTBALL KCCA board divided on Byekwaso

Byekwaso faces a fight to convince certain figures at the club that he has the authority to turn around what has become a disastrous run of results that leaves his future under a cloud.

In his post-match interview, the KCCA tactician made it clear- he cannot shoulder all the blame by hitting out at players who don't bury chances to take the pressure off the team.

"Today, I don't know why players missed a lot of chances," Byekwaso wondered after the game.

"The chances were created in numbers, but lack of concentration, lack of effectiveness, that does not go to the coach. It is for a player as an individual to know what it needs in such a situation, and you take away the chance so that the team does not play with pressure," he added.

Even with an embarrassment of riches in the squad, KCCA have struggled to play well or even get results, which continues to pile pressure on the coaching staff.

They have won 11 games, drawn five and lost three.

Unlucky

From players, Byekwaso added that the team might require a bit of luck to get over the line in some games, something that was not on their side on Sunday.

"Today, we didn't have luck. We would have won this game.

"For sure, it is hurting. We thought that it was over. The referee had added three minutes, then we played one and did not concentrate much, and we conceded in that terrible moment.

"We had nothing to do. We couldn't come back at that time."

Things get more challenging for Byekwaso and his team in the title race as the league reaches its final bend.

URA (away), Villa (home), Gadaffi (away), Onduparaka (home) and Vipers (away) are the team's next opponents.

Before that, KCCA will be hoping to keep silverware hopes alive when they face Bright Stars in the Uganda Cup on Sunday.

Byekwaso emphasized: "The struggle still continues. We need to find a way. If we need to be champions, we have to find a way of coming back and start winning games."

Frustration is already written all over the faces of KCCA fans, and they used Sunday's game to send a message to the powers that be by wearing black instead of their club jerseys.

Having lost the title to Vipers by 18 points last season, Byekwaso's task this season is to see the league and Uganda Cup titles back in Lugogo.