After a break of 58 days, the Azam Uganda Premier League resumed on Tuesday and Wednesday with eight fixtures to get the second round of the 2016/17 season underway.
ChimpSport’s Joel Muyita brings you sixteen talking points from match day 16.
1- Goals scored
18 goals were scored in the eight games played making an average of 2.25 goals per game. Proline scored the most in their 3-1 victory against Onduparaka.
Of the 18 goals scored, half of them (nine) came in the first half with 7 scored before the half hour mark.
2 – Bookings
A total of 17 players were booked for foul play. JMC Hippos had the highest number of players cautioned (3). These include Daniel Shabena, Herbert Kakande and goalkeeper Benson Wagima
Brian Bweete was the only player who received matching orders on match day 16. The goalkeeper was sent off as BUL lost 2-0 to KCCA FC.
3- Wins vs Draws
Of the 8 games played, 4 teams managed to earn maximum points while the other four fixtures ended in stalemates. Vipers, KCCA FC, Proline and Police were the only teams that recorded victory.
4- Earliest goal
Geoffrey Sserunkuma scored the fastest goal on match day 16. The leading top scorer found the back of the net against BUL just three minutes after kickoff.
5- Debut goals
4 players were on target in the first games at their respective clubs. Hamis “Diego” Kiiza on his return at URA scored for the tax collectors against JMC Hippos. In the same game, defender Hassan Musana who was making his league debut for JMC Hippos since joining from BUL converted a penalty.
The others include David Owori and William Wadri both on loan from Vipers who scored for Proline and Police respectively.
6- Draw masters
Uganda Revenue Authority football club registered the 11th draw of the season, the highest by any club. Only Proline come close with 10 draws.
7- Penalty goals
5 penalties were awarded on match day 16 and only Onduparaka’s Ceasar Okhuti failed to convert.
Saddam Juma (Express), Hassan Musana (JMC Hippos), William Wadri (Police),Anthony Mayanja (Kirinya Jinja SS) and Muhammad Shaban (Onduparaka) all scored through penalties.
8- Honouring Ssegwanga
Across the different match venues, there was a moment of silence observed to honour the late Kezekiah Ssegwanga Musisi who passed away at the end of last week.
Ssegwanga served football in different capacities including being the Fufa president between 1972-1974
9- Police and Proline start with a bang
Following dismal performances in the first round, both Police and Proline found themselves languishing in the drop zone. However, both sides began the second round on an impressive note.
10- Mutyaba hands over captaincy
Not so many players in Uganda officially announce their retirement from football. Suleiman Mutyaba is one of the rare cases as he came out to hang up his boots before the start of the second round.
And when Express played against the Saints on Tuesday, he officially handed over the captain’s armband to his successor Ibrahim Saddam Juma before kickoff.
11- Jinja teams continue to struggle
Just like it was the case in the first round, teams from Jinja failed to register positive results. Sadolin Paints and BUL lost to Police and KCCA FC respectively while Kirinya Jinja SS and JMC Hippos could only settle for draws.
12- Phillip Omondi Fortress
Defending champions KCCA FC extended their perfect home record to seven straight wins after defeating BUL 2-0. No team has managed to attain a similar feat at home this season.
13- Villa’s title hopes dented.
After closing in on leaders KCCA FC to just one point towards the end of the first round, Villa were expected to keep mounting pressure on KCCA.
However, the league record champions were held to a goalless draw by Bright stars yet their title rivals won to stretch the gap to three points.
14- Attendance
The local league is slowly attracting back the crowds. The attendance at all the stadiums on match day 16 was impressive.
15- Debutants
The second round of the league returned after a busy transfer market and several players who made moves made debuts at different clubs. A total of 52 players played their first league games for respective clubs.
These included Emmanuel Okwi, Fahad Muhammad Toko, Hamis Diego Kiiza, Milton Kalisa, Hakim Ssenkuma, Joseph Ssemujju among others.
16- Top scorer’s race
The battle for the top scorer’s gong was one of the key highlights at the start of match day 16.
Leading goalscorer Geoffrey Sserunkuma is the first player to hit double figures scoring his 10th goal against BUL.
Muhammad Shaban follows closely with nine after converting from a penalty against Proline.