SC Villa booked their place in the Stanbic Uganda Cup round of 32 after grinding out a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Pallisa Hospital FC in their round of 64 clash played on Friday.
The record Uganda Cup winners were forced into an early battle after goalkeeper Jean-Braddy Wokorach was shown a straight red card just four minutes into the contest for fouling an opposition attacker outside the penalty area.
With the Jogoos reduced to ten men, the technical bench reacted quickly by introducing goalkeeper Norman Angufindru, with midfielder Ali Bayo withdrawn to accommodate the change.
Despite the setback, SC Villa remained composed and continued to dominate proceedings, eventually breaking the deadlock in the 32nd minute when captain David Owori calmly found the back of the net to give the visitors the advantage.
Pallisa Hospital FC, however, came out stronger after the break and managed to restore parity midway through the second half, igniting hopes of a major upset for the Eastern Regional League side.
But Villa’s experience proved decisive in the closing stages as Aslam Ssemakula struck the winning goal ten minutes from time, sealing a crucial victory and ensuring the Jogoos progressed to the next round.
SC Villa now joins a growing list of teams already through to the round of 32, including defending champions Vipers SC, BUL FC, KCCA FC, Express FC, NEC FC, Kitara FC and Entebbe UPPC FC, among others.
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