URA exhibited a magnificent display at the Arena of Visions, Ndejje University on Wednesday evening to oust Mbarara City with a comfortable 2-0 scoreline, and by doing so ensured a return to winning ways after four consecutive draws.
Earlier, the head coach, Sam Timbe had clearly indicated the intent his side was coming with to the game, and so to ensure that this was delivered, he made four changes from the side that started against Onduparaka FC.
Nafian Alionzi returned to the team in goal alongside Benjamin Nyakoojo, Joackiam Ojera, and Saidi Kyeyune for James Alitho, Faruku Katongole, Patrick Mbowa and Moses Sseruyidde respectively.
The mindset, as preached by Timbe in his pre-match interview was manifested at the start of the game, as the Tax Collectors were pressing high up the pitch, winning all the second balls and forcing the opposition defence into making errors.
It took until minute 13 for the skipper, Shafik Kagimu, to make the dominance count by finding the back of the net. He showed a lot of composure to rebound his own effort after it had hit the opposition goal post and came back in play.
Ojera came close to doubling the lead in the 19th minute after making an effortless run to meet Cromwel Rwothomio’s inch-perfect pass at the edge of the opposition’s six-yard area but was disappointed to see it go wide.
At this juncture, the Tax Collectors were in perfect control of the game, dominating every department on the pitch and the visitors were simply left to pick the pieces.
The dominance was quite evident that Nyakoojo almost made it pay off in the 43rd minute with a powerful header, only for it to go begging by just inches.
At the start of the second half, Arafat Galiwango replaced Derrick Ndahiro at left-back before Steven Mukwala-who had a rather quiet evening made way for Ibrahim Dada in the 63rd minute.
Kabon Living would also come in for Ojera 10 minutes later, and it’s fair to say that his introduction changed the game. This is so because he created a penalty in the 76th minute, only three minutes after coming onto the pitch.
Ibrahim Dada did not shy away from the responsibility when he claimed the ball and converted from the spot with perfection in the 78th minute. This made it 2-0 but most importantly ensured that Timbe’s side returned to winning ways.