“Every new game is a new chance. What happened last time does not matter if you come ready and give everything,” SC Villa head coach Zeljko Kovacevic said as he downplayed his side’s Uganda Premier League poor record against KCCA ahead of Saturday’s Kampala derby at FUFA Stadium, Kadiba.
SC Villa face KCCA still searching for a league win in 12 meetings since 2020, a run that has seen the Kasasiro Boys dominate the fixture with 15 victories in that period, including the reverse encounter at Namboole earlier this season when Umar Lutalo struck a late free kick to punish Kovacevic’s side.
But the Serbian coach refused to dwell on history, insisting each match stands alone.
“I think that is not important,” he said. “Every new game is a new chance. What happened last time does not matter.”
Villa may have lost that previous meeting, but Kovacevic believes his team showed enough promise to take encouragement forward.
“We played a very good game,” he said. “We created five or six chances but missed them. The difference was finishing. We must improve.”
Saturday’s derby will be the fourth meeting between the two sides this season, with Villa already having beaten KCCA en route to winning the FUFA Super 8 title. Kovacevic says that result proved progress, but he wants more consistency.
“When you want to win a championship, you must always give your best,” he said. “Sometimes you succeed, sometimes you don’t, but you must keep improving.”
He added that preparations for the derby have been detailed, especially because of KCCA’s individual quality.
“This is a Kampala derby,” he said. “We must prepare very well. KCCA have very good individual players, so we must analyse everything and be ready.”
Villa will be boosted by the return of forwards Charles Lwanga and Frank Ssebuufu, who missed the Uganda Cup win over Happy Boyz. Ssebuufu had been suspended.
However, midfielder Misi Diego Ssemugera is a doubt due to a minor injury.
“We have many players in good shape,” Kovacevic said. “Only Diego has a small problem. We will see tomorrow if he plays.”
Lwanga is expected to return to the squad as Villa look to strengthen their attack for a match Kovacevic insists must be approached without fear or history weighing them down.
