Prime
Tempers flare as Onen starts with win at Gaddafi
What you need to know:
- The win lifts the 'Soldier Boys' to 6th on the log with eight points, skipping above Arua Hills and their cross-town rivals Busoga United who drew blanks against Bright Stars at Njeru.
The two matches between Gaddafi and Arua Hill in last season's Fufa Big League were explosive and ended in draws. The atmosphere was the same if not more toxic on Friday as the Soldier Boys held on to wedge a 1-0 win inside their Gaddafi Barracks on Peter Onen's debut as headcoach.
Rashid Toha also marked his debut for the Arua side since joining in the transfer period but the match was one to forget as his defensive mishap caused the goal.
Ibrahim Faizul had slashed down Brian Kalumba on the left wing in the 26th. Hassan Musana sliced in a dangerous delivery from the foul which Toha mistimed his clearance skewing his attempt back to goal with a hand involved too. Kalumba picked the bits in the goal-line melee and swept in.
"I am happy to be back in action but unfortunately this is not the way I wanted to start," Toha told Daily Monitor.
"I don't think they were better than us tactically but they used their half-chance and won. We'll go back and rectify," he said.
The hosts remained a man less after Franco Onen earned himself a sendoff for two poor challenges on Allan Mugalu in the 22nd and 44th. The visitors, Kongolo, also had Ceasar Okhuti pushed out of the perimeter for protesting the referee's decision.
Tactical changes
Onen tweaked his setup, bringing in Alex Kitata for Faisal Muwawu and later the goal scorer for Joel Madondo while dropping his anchorman Yunus Sibira deeper to add cover to the backline as he used the wings to counter Mbabazi's substitutions.
"We didn't play the style I want because they put a lot of pressure. The red card also forces us to adjust what we were trying to play and dropped back one midfielder to absorb them but we have where to start as we plan for the next games," Onen said.
The win lifts the 'Soldier Boys' to 6th on the log with eight points, skipping above Arua Hills and their cross-town rivals Busoga United who drew blanks against Bright Stars at Njeru.
UGANDA PREMIER LEAGUE
Gadaffi 1-0 Arua Hill
UPDF 1-2 KCCA
Mbarara 1-2 Vipers
Wakiso Giants 3-0 Tooro United
Busoga United 0-0 Bright Stars
