SC Villa coasted to a record 17th extending league title over the weekend with a 2-0 win over NEC at the MTN Omondi stadium, Lugogo.
Charles Lwanga and Hakim Kiwanuka buried their chances on the afternoon to end a 20-year wait for the league trophy at Villa Park.
The Jogoos have been unplayable all campaign and lost just to three teams in the whole campaign although it hasn’t been rosy either as they only got to the table summit in the penultimate round.
So how did the Blues turn their season into a procession? Here are the five key matches that defined their campaign.
Kitara 1-1 SC Villa
SC Villa went into this fixture 4th on the log with three points behind Kitara and defeat would see the Royals open a six-point gap between them and the Jogoos.
A late equaliser from Patrick Kakande ensured the gap didn’t widen and that point turned out an important one later in the race.
BUL 0-1 SC Villa
The game that showed the character of the young Villa team. Without four stars who were with the Hippos at the All-Africa Games including serial match winner Kakande, Owori scored the all-important goal in the 40th minute.
Bul had a chance to draw the game level in the 58th minute from a penalty after Gavin Kizito did a Suarez and handled the goal bound ball on the line. He was sent off but goalie Braddy Jeans Wokorach saved the resultant penalty and Villa held on to pick their first away win at BUL in a long time.
The win lifted the Jogoos from 6th to 4th place with 36 points, seven behind leaders Kitara then but with two games in hand.
SC Villa 3-2 Wakiso Giants
Probably the turning point of the season. Wakiso Giants lead 2-0 after 51 minutes but SC Villa rallied to win 3-2 with goals from Ronald Ssekiganda, Umar Lutalo and Reagan Mpande.
Having come into the game on the back of three straight matches with no win including defeat to KCCA, dropping points would all but end the title hopes for the Jogoos.
That win meant they stayed 4th with 48 points but kept the leading pack in close proximity.
The game also marked the start of a winning run till the final day and it coincided with competitors dropping points.
SC Villa 2-1 URA
The day the title was literally won as almost all contenders dropped points with Villa ascending from 4th to the top of the table in the last three minutes.
Umar Lutalo cancelled Bruno Bunyaga goal in the 83rd minute before captain marvel Kenneth Ssemakula won it with a contender for the goal of the season in the 87th minute to send Villa top of the table for the first time in a campaign.
It meant they took charge of their own destiny into the final day.
NEC 0-2 SC Villa
The defining match of the campaign for Villa. A hard fought away to a rivals’ ground with fans in the stands enduring a pulsating 67 minutes before the deadlock was broken.
With the 2022/23 capitulation at the back of mind, it appeared like a repeat of the same but nerves were finally calmed when Kiwanuka got the second goal sending the crowd into frenzy.
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