SC Villa Suffer Defeat On Continental Return

Saturday, August 17
*SC Villa 1-2 CBE (Ethiopia)

SC Villa’s long-awaited return to the continental stage ended in disappointment as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Ethiopia’s Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) in the CAF Champions League preliminary round first leg at Namboole Stadium.

The Jogoos, who were playing their first CAF match in eight years, were undone by a determined CBE side in front of a sparse crowd.

The Ethiopian outfit took the lead just before halftime through former BUL forward Simon Peter Oketch, capitalizing on defensive lapses from the hosts.

CBE doubled their advantage 10 minutes into the second half, with Adid Gedey finding the back of the net, leaving the home side in disarray.

Despite the setback, Villa showed some resilience, with Elvis Ngonde pulling one back with 20 minutes left on the clock, giving the Ugandan side a glimmer of hope.

However, their comeback efforts were hampered when forward Charles Lwanga was sent off for a reckless challenge, forcing Villa to finish the match with 10 men.

This result leaves coach Morley Byekwaso’s side with an uphill task as they aim to overturn the deficit in the return leg.

The match marked a disappointing homecoming for SC Villa, who last played on the continent in 2016 when they secured a 1-0 win over Morocco’s FUS Rabat at the same venue, but lost the tie 7-1 on aggregate.

Saturday’s encounter was met with low attendance, as the club’s decision to hike ticket prices to Sh50,000 for an ordinary ticket kept many fans away.

SC Villa now faces the daunting task of needing to win by at least a two-goal margin in Addis Ababa next week if they are to progress to the next round.