SINAN RAJUB SENOGA
Ssingo 1-1 Buddu
(Ssingo win 12-11 on penalties)
Ssingo defeated rivals Buddu in a nail bitting penalty shoot out to clinch the 2018 Masaza Cup at Mandela National Stadium, Namboole.
- Advertisement -
In a fully packed Namboole, both sides came into this game with a motive of winning their second ever Masaza Cup.
SIGN UP WITH KAGWIRAWO AND ENJOY OUR WIDE RANGE OF PRODUCTS AND PROMPT PAYMENTS
The two played to a goalless first half with the best attempt falling to Buddu’s Ivan Serubiri whose goal bound free kick was exquisitely parried away by Ssingo’s steady custodian Derrick Were minutes to the break.
8 minutes into the second half, lanky forward Frank Sebuufu beat an onrushing Were to break the deadlock for the 2016 champions.
Shafik Bisaso had brought on diminutive youngester Godfrey Kakooza for Mansoor Safi, a move that changed the tide of the game.
Kakooza despite being one of the shortest players on the pitch levelled matters with a header from a goal mouth scramble in the 64th minute.
After the two teams fired blanks in the remaining minutes of the game, extra time was for the first time played to determine the winner but in vain.
The fate was left to be decided by an epic penalty shoot out.
Both Ssingo and Buddu flawlessly converted their first 6 penalties before a first miss happened.
Goal scorer Kakooza turned villain when he sent his kick above the bar to send the fans into a frenzy.
Ironically, another goal scorer Frank Sebuufu did the same thing blasting the ball over the goal frame to squander Buddu’s golden chance to win the championship.
The perfect cycle continued until the 13th round of the shoot out. Derrick Were scored his penalty but Buddu’s Steven Sebuffu Dube put the ball over the bar to hand Ssingo their 2nd ever title.
Ssingo’s Jude Semugabi emerged the tournament’s top scorer with 8 goals.
Earlier on, Busujju clinched the third place after defeating Buwekula by a goal to nil.
Winners : Ssingo
Losing finalists : Buddu
Third place : Busujju
Top scorer : Semugabi Jude 9 goals (Ssingo)
Best goalkeeper : Shatif Magoola (Busujju)
MVP : Owen Kasule Ibrahim
