The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
FUS de Rabat (Morocco) 7-0 SC Villa (Uganda)
Scorers: Mourad Batna 26, Ce As Mandaw 34, Abdessalam Benjelloun 40, El Mehdi El Bassil 48, Marwane Saadane 70, Youssef El Gnaoui 81, Mohamed Fouzair 90
SC Villa’s CAF Confederation Cup trip to FUS Rabat in Morocco ended in misery, with the Ugandans being whipped 7-0.
The first round, round of 16 result confirmed that North Africa remains the most feared destination for Ugandan clubs. It brings to memory a previous humiliation, this time by Tunisia’s Club Africain who whipped the then mighty SC Villa 6-2 in the first leg of the 1991 African Club Championship final.
Football: Great goals as FUS hit Villa for seven
Brilliant first and last goals highlighted a 7-0 triumph for hosts FUS Rabat of Morocco over Villa of Uganda Friday in a CAF Confederation Cup last 16 first leg.
Mourad Batna rifled a left-foot free-kick from well outside the box over the raised right hand of the Ugandan goalkeeper for the opener on 26 minutes.
Mohamed Fouzair completed the rout at Stade Moulay Abdallah in the Moroccan capital with a solo goal a minute into stoppage time.
He dribbled past four Ugandans to score as 2010 Confederation Cup title-holders FUS achieved the biggest win in the competition this season, bettering the 6-0 of Wits of South Africa over Light Stars of Seychelles.
US Bitam of Gabon hold the winning margin record for the second-tier African club competition having trounced Guadalupe of Sao Tome e Principe 12-1 three years ago.
Senegalese Sy Ass Mandaw, Abdessalam Benjelloum, El Mehdi El Bassil, Marwane Saadane and Youssef El Gnaoui were the other scorers for FUS, who led 3-0 at half-time.
Villa only managed to make the trip this time after President Museveni’s intervention. The long-serving head of state has promised the cash-strapped Kampala club $120,000 (105,000 euros) toward the costs of the two-leg, round-of-16 tie.
Villa are took only 16 players, two coaches and three officials to the Moroccan capital for the first leg. Villa coach Ibrahim Kirya had promised before the tie that, “we will not tremble at all and I believe my team can achieve a respectable away result.”
The return match is scheduled for Kampala on April 19 or 20 and the overall winners book a play-off against a CAF Champions League last 16 loser.
In the previous qualifying round of the secondary African club competition, the Ugandan outfit slashed costs by making a 25-hour bus and ferry journey to Zanzibar.
Travelling by road from Central Africa to Morocco in the north west of the continent was not practical, though, and club president Ben Misagga has hailed the assistance of Museveni.
“I thank President Museveni for coming to our rescue with his financial offer,” the official told reporters in Kampala. “We are flying the Ugandan flag in Africa.
Seventeen of 56 football associations eligible to enter the Confederation Cup this year declined, largely due to financial constraints, and two clubs withdrew after the draw was made.
Azam of Tanzania and Al Ahly Shendy of Sudan, the other East African survivors, enjoy home advantage first against Esperance of Tunisia and Medeama of Ghana respectively.
OTHER FIXTURES
Saturday 9 April
15:00 Zanaco (Zambia) vs. Stade Gabesien (Tunisia)
19:00 MC Oran (Algeria) vs. Kawkab Marrakech (Morocco)
19:00 Club sportif Constantine (Algeria) vs. Maqass (Egypt)
Sunday 10 April
14:15 Azam (Tanzania) vs. Esperance (Tunisia)
16:00 Mounana (Gabon) vs. ENPPI (Egypt)
16:30 V.Club Mokanda (Congo) vs. Sagrada Esperanca (Angola)
19:00 Ahly Shendi (Sudan) vs. Medeama (Ghana)
