On Friday, March 6, Joshua Aziku proved his worth with a second half hat trick that settled the close semifinal contest, sending Mengo City to the Futsal Uganda Cup final by eliminating Lunky Lubiri Falcons.
With a 3-1 hard fought win, defending champion Mengo City booked a final against another powerhouse, QC Mbarara, who dismantled Edgar’s Youth Programme by 11-2 in the first Semifinal.
In the second semifinal played at Old Kampala Indoor Arena, Hassan Ssentongo struck first to put the sought-after underdogs in front in the first half.
Mengo launched a brave fight, but Lubiri Falcons tried to remain resistant to maintain their lead to halftime. Five minutes from the end of the game, Aziku ran the entire court past Falcons players to strike in between the legs of Eric Dhaira for an equaliser.
The tension of the game continued to grow, with Billy Nkata, Ian Tugume, and Aziku cooking for the Mengo City side, while Mansoor Kintu, Sulaiman Mutyaba, and Hassan Kalule kept the challenge close for the Falcons.
Later, with four minutes counting on the clock, Aziku broke the resistance with a powerful effort that thunderously beat Dhaira, who was steadily pulling acrobatic saves to keep Falcons in the game.
With Mengo City leading, two minutes later an opportunity arrived when Francis Elubu handled the ball in the semi-circle area for a penalty, which was easily converted by Aziku to complete the hat trick, enabling Mengo City to kill off the game by 3-1.
Earlier in the evening, Gilbran Nduhukire led QC Mbarara to the final with four goals, Kenneth Majara had a hat trick, while Owen Othieno, Eria Kabagambe, Shafic Mulangira, and an own goal from Hamza Ntangujira tallied 11 goals for QC.
Captain Alfred Feni Garanga and Hamza Ntangujira netted for Edger’s during their defeat, as QC Mbarara reached their first Uganda Cup final.
