“Lwanga should have been sent off for hacking my boy Allan Okello. I withdrew him early to protect him from the hard tackles and that is where the game was lost.”
“I would rather lose the title and protect the 18-year old’s future because he is the only genuine number 10 in the country,” Mutebi fumed.
Okello has not been doing well in away matches compared to the ‘protected’ environs at Lugogo.
That points to one thing, Okello must add speed and technique to his burgeoning game plan if he is to elude more flying tackles. Today, it is Lwanga but tomorrow it is going to be former colleague Ivan Ntege who is at Township Rollers that KCCA face on Friday. Ntege knows Okello’s sleek moves inside out and you bet like Lwanga, who is by the way not remorseful for his aggressive style, will herd the creative lad the entire afternoon.
But over years we have had industrious midfielders like Jackson Mayanja, Steven Bengo and David Obua who sustained career threatening injuries whilst trying to entertain and get results.
For a better future, Okello’s organic growth must include gym work and increasing on his versatility.
We have seen Okello face hostile opposition in the Copa schools tourney with Kibuli SS but managed to wave through and lead them to glory at times.
In such games, Okello usually switches from holding onto the ball so much to playing a one touch fast game and roves in many positions in the midfield.
Argentine soccer god Lionel Messi has also been a target of tackling defenders but his lightening feet, box of skills, ability to coordinate with with Barcelona teammates like Andres Iniesta has helped him prevail.This to me is a situation of deer getting fresh means to survive getting eaten in the wilderness and the Lion improving its hunting skills to survive.
Mutebi has gone to the extreme, branding Lwanga a ‘destruction’ machine and summing up their last encounter as ‘beauty vs the beast.’
For Golola, it was all about denying KCCA space and getting the three points at this crucial title bend.
“Football belongs to men. We had to deny Okello and other KCCA play-makers space to play and we succeeded at that.”
Sadly, the reality of how gritty and splendid football can coexist, has temporarily been soaked up in the mind games leading up to the title showdown.
For now, the onus is on the men in black to regulate the tackles and send offs, something many feel Fifa referee Ali Sabila didn’t do to his very best at Kitende.
