The country’s Caf Confederations Cup representatives, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), are officially in an injury crisis.
URA coach Alex Isabirye admits that he is almost sure they will face Premier Soccer League (PSL) outfit Orlando Pirates in the return leg of the first round without four of his first team players.
Add lead marksman Robert Ssentongo, who is serving his second match ban, and you have five would-be starters in the Ugandan club’s biggest game of the season yet out.
Ssentongo’s would-be replacements in Frank Kalanda and Peter Lwasa are all huge doubts, with only the former standing a 50-50 chance.
Kalanda is down with malaria since Sunday while Lwasa’s bad ankle rules him out, according to Isabirye.
Midfielder Oscar Agaba’s hamstring and defender Deo Othieno’s bad knee are also almost certain to rule the two out.
Isabirye rates the four players’ chances of making it for Saturday below 40 per cent. “As of now, I really don’t see them making it,” he said, adding, “Let’s wait and see.” URA need a 1-0 victory to progress to the second round.
URA face the daunting task of overturning a 2-1 deficit against Premier Soccer League (PSL) side Orlando Pirates without their top marksman Robert Ssentongo.
The two meet at Mandela National Stadium, Namboole in the second leg of the Caf Confederations Cup on Saturday with URA needing a 1-0 victory to progress to the second round.
URA’s lead scorer on the continent with three of their five goals, Ssentongo, missed the first leg in South Africa. He also leads the local league’s scoring charts with 10.
Ssentongo is again out of Saturday’s continental encounter after the Caf disciplinary sitting ruled that his red card offence in the away preliminary tie against Elgeco Plus in Madagascar amounted to violent conduct.
URA coach Alex Isabirye insists he did not see the incident which got the striker sent off in the said preliminary match.
“To be honest I don’t know because the ball was in our half and Ssentongo was in their half. The ref said it was an elbow although Ssentongo denies.”
The 2015 Caf regulations state in part that “a player sent off the field by the referee is to be automatically suspended from playing the subsequent match of the clubs competitions without prejudice to other sanctions, which the organising Committee might impose on him subsequently.”
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