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Away games will be challenging. Very tough. The club's only chance is to take care of business at home.
Before Vipers knew it, they were 2-0 down against Raja Athletic Club on their Total Energies CAF Champions League debut match in Casablanca, Morocco.
An awful display by custodian Alfred Mudekereza allowed the Moroccans to start the game and their campaign ideally.
The Congolese was caught out of position for the opening goal and then put the ball into the path of Hamza Khabba for the second. It was getting ugly when Raja got the third before the halftime break.
Vipers tried to close shop in the second half but could not stop the hosts, who helped themselves to another two goals to win the one-sided contest 5-0 and take charge of Group C.
Friday night was the answer to whether there were any doubts about the gulf in class between the two sides or between Morocco and Uganda.
Morocco became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals, while Uganda's ticket to the next AFCON is far from guaranteed.
And that is after missing out on the previous one. And the World Cup remains a dream for the East African side.
Before the match, Vipers head coach Roberto Bianchi had asked his players to be brave, and with the hosts serving a suspension of fans from the stadium, the visitors ought to have handled the pressure better.
That this would be the most brutal group game for Vipers was never in doubt. But how the game was lost exposed how far back Ugandan football is. Vipers barely crossed into the opposition half.
Martin Kiiza's free kick from the right side was the only effort Raja goalkeeper Anas Zniti had to deal with all night. And it was straight at him.
The schoolboy errors made by the Ugandan champions point to a team learning on the job. And at that level, the ramifications are brutal. But this was never expected to be a contest. Never.
It is okay to be patriotic and rally behind any team representing Uganda, but this was always going to be a David-Goliath affair. This time, though, David had no stone to throw at David. And Goliath was armed with weapons of mass destruction.
The most important thing here will be for Vipers to pick lessons. This was only the campaign's first game, and there are five more group matches to play.
Simba and Horoya away from home will be tough matches for Bianchi and his charges, but no one will blame them if they lose. It is how they fail.
Although a team like Raja will always create chances to score, the last thing you want to do is present them with gifts, as Mudekereza did in the opening 15 minutes of the game.
Bianchi probably has a lot to learn about his team as well. Horoya at home is up next for Vipers next Saturday. Home debut match, Vipers will want to show a much better display on home soil.
Away games will be challenging. Very tough. The club's only chance is to take care of business at home.
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