The second round of the Makerere derby of the 2023 Nile Special Rugby Premier League between Rams and Impis played over the weekend at the Graveyard was characterized by high tempers and indiscipline issues and at the end of the day a total of eight cards were displayed.
Rams who lost 05-11 were the biggest casualties, picking a combined eight cards with Emmanuel Kibirige getting both a yellow card (in the first half) and a red card towards the end of the game. Jude Kakala, Reagan Mungu, Geoffrey Othieno, Uthman Mukasa each got sin binned at some point of the game.
For Impis who managed a season double over Rams, Roy Kizito and Robert Sentongo were given yellow cards in a low-scoring game.
Rams head coach Richard Lumu says that center referee, Umar Balikkanda didn’t handle the game well and this could have partly affected the outcome after the final whistle.
“I am not feeling fine because of how the game was officiated. It’s a derby and I think they need to bring a referee who understands how a derby goes. You cannot be coming here and you are sending off players and you think you know how to officiate a derby,” Lumu said in an exclusive interview with Kawowo Sports (kawowo.com).
“The last games we had there were no cards because the referee understood the game but here comes a referee who is doing otherwise and he is like on a mission and doesn’t understand how a derby plays out,” Lumu added.
Lumu also says that his players should have been able to utilize their chances and this he hopes is rectified in the next game. Had Michael Kalyango made use of the five penalties he took, Rams should have come atop. He even missed two penalties that were positioned right in front of the sticks.
“We missed easy penalties and it has come down to a point where we need to be utilizing these points in order to win games. We were better in open play but we missed three points (penalties) over and again. It’s an area we need to look into in training,” Lumu said.
Rams face Jinja Hippos in a lunch time fixture (2 PM) on Saturday at the Graveyard and Lumu says that it’s now time to turn things around as teams are seeking for better positions on the table.
After 11 games, Rams are winless in the men’s top tier division and are the only side yet to get maximum points. They have managed one draw against Rhinos and have lost the other (10) games. They are at the bottom of the 10-team table with seven points, two behind of ninth placed Rhinos.
With relegation in sight, Rams are hoping to overturn the 43-08 defeat they suffered against Hippos earlier this month at Dam Waters and Lumu is positive that they can get off the mark this weekend.
“We need to change our mindset and get a winning mentality. We need to dig deep to get those wins coming. We are going to continue working hard and I believe things will get fine,” a positive Lumu said adding that he anticipates good times with the season now entering its final bend.
