After weeks of drama, threats, and near-boycotts, Nec finally bow to the inevitable-kicking off their StarTimes Uganda Premier League campaign on Thursday at Nakivubo Stadium against URA.
But it is a start with double hearts, one half unwilling, the other resigned to fate.
Alongside giants SC Villa and Vipers, Nec had vehemently opposed the controversial new league format, vowing not to step on the turf until Fufa revisited its stance.
Yet on the eve of their mandatory fixture, the club’s official communication on X betrayed a sense of coercion:
‘The focus shifts to the mandatory fixture, which we must play despite our disagreement with the new league format, as other engagements continue.’
It read more like a surrender note than a rallying cry.
Tough times
And if that wasn’t enough, Nec’s preparation is already crippled by misfortune.
Coach Hussein Mbalangu – normally the embodiment of confidence and bravado – sounded uncharacteristically subdued.
Still smarting from their Caf Confederation Cup elimination at the hands of Nairobi United, the gaffer admitted his team were bruised, battered, and mentally drained.
‘We didn’t achieve our target in Nairobi, we didn’t have luck by our side but the boys gave it their whole,’ he lamented.
‘We had asked Fufa to postpone the game because we have many injured players – Allan Mugalu, James Jarieko, Cromwell Rwothomio, Titus Ssematimba, Siraje Ssentamu – we have about eight injured players, but we shall try to fight for maximum points.’
His words betrayed both a wounded pride and a pragmatic realism.
The Caf exit robbed his side of momentum and the injury list reads like a horror script. Still, Mbalangu insists that familiarity with URA’s patterns could offer Nec a lifeline.
Same old URA
The irony, however, is that their opponents are equally unpredictable.
Alex Isabirye’s URA, despite undergoing a facelift in the transfer window, showed the same old bluntness in their goalless opening draw against Bul at Njeru.
The Tax Collectors remain a puzzle – capable of brilliance one week, and mediocrity the next. That volatility makes tonight’s clash at Nakivubo one of the most unpredictable ties on the early fixture list.
Elsewhere, at the Police Arena in Kamwokya, Matia Lule’s Police continue their reintegration into the top flight against Express.
Police showed defensive discipline in a goalless draw with Mbarara City, but must now contend with a Red Eagles side buoyed by a narrow 1-0 win over UPDF.
Badru Kaddu’s men looked sharp in that opener and will fancy adding Police to their early-season victims.
StarTimes Uganda Premier League
Thursday
Police vs. Express, 4pm
URA vs. Nec, 8pm