Vipers captain Milton Karisa is confident the team will turn around their fortunes when they host Lugazi FC in a Uganda Premier League encounter at St Mary’s Stadium, Kitende.
The Venoms have endured a difficult start to the campaign, winning just three of their eight matches to sit 11th on the 18-team table.
Under interim coach John ‘Ayala’ Luyinda, Vipers have lost their last two matches against Mbarara City and URA FC following the departure of head coach Denis Lavagne.
In their most recent outing against URA at Nakivubo, Vipers conceded a controversial goal after goalkeeper Loyce Mbaba failed to deal with a tame cross from Moses Aliro, with replays suggesting the ball had not fully crossed the line.
The visitors later had an opportunity to salvage a point when they were awarded a late penalty, but Farouk Miya failed to convert from the spot.
However, Karisa believes the team has what it takes to recover and climb the table, pointing to their failure to convert scoring opportunities as one of their biggest shortcomings.
“Collectively, we will bounce back from this storm and climb up the table. I am sure of that. We created some chances but did not score when we should have, and I think that is the problem,” Karisa said.
“You can create so many chances, but you have to score. I think we need to be more clinical whenever we create an opportunity.”
The captain admitted that the defeat was disappointing but urged his teammates to quickly shift their focus to the Lugazi encounter.
“We are disappointed with the result, but now we look forward to another game in four days. Of course, we need to be confident and prepare well because we want to win that game.”
Vipers’ struggles come after their early elimination from the CAF Champions League preliminary rounds, where they were knocked out by Mauritania’s FC Nouadhibou.
They now turn their attention to Lugazi, who occupy 13th place with eight points from nine matches.
Karisa, however, expects a tough contest against the visitors, whom he describes as an aggressive and competitive side.
“It’s not going to be an easy game, knowing that our opponents are a bit aggressive and a good team. But we have prepared very well.
“We know we haven’t been performing well in our recent games, but we have managed to lift ourselves and focus on returning to winning ways. We know what we are capable of, and we hope to start winning.”
Vipers dominated this fixture last season, completing a league double over Lugazi, including a 3-0 victory at Kitende. Rogers Torach, Usama Arafat and Odili Chukwuma were on target in that encounter.
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