Uganda Cup: Obenchan’s late first-half strike sends KCCA FC into Round of 16

KCCA FC booked their place in the Stanbic Uganda Cup Round of 16 with a narrow but hard-fought 1–0 victory over Mbarara City FC in a Round of 32 encounter played on Sunday at the MTN Omondi Stadium.

45+1′ | KCCA 1-0 Mbarara | ⚽ Filbert Obenchan.#StanbicUgandaCup | #KCCMBR pic.twitter.com/2c1uXCI1ox

— FUFA Tv (@fufatv1) February 22, 2026

The contest, which was the first tie to be played at this stage of the competition, began at a lively tempo with both sides showing early attacking intent.

In the seventh minute, Shafik Kwikiriza won possession in midfield and fired a low effort on goal, only for Mbarara City goalkeeper Derrick Emukule to react smartly and keep the scores level.

KCCA continued to probe and nearly found the breakthrough in the 18th minute when Ashraf Mugume was fouled in a dangerous area. Umaru Lutalo stepped up to curl the resulting free kick, but once again Emukule stood firm to deny the hosts.

Mbarara City had their moment shortly after, winning a free kick of their own in the 22nd minute. Busulwa delivered a teasing ball into the area, forcing KCCA goalkeeper Mutwalib Mugolofa into a brilliant save before Gavin Kizito cleared the danger.

Just as it seemed the teams would head into the break goalless, the breakthrough finally arrived. In first-half stoppage time, KCCA captain Filbert Obenchan rose to the occasion, striking decisively to break the deadlock off a Mugume searching free kick to send the home fans into celebration as the halftime whistle followed moments later.

The second half was more tactical, with Mbarara City pushing for an equaliser and KCCA managing the game intelligently.

The visitors picked up yellow cards for Regan Matege and Bironse Malik as the intensity increased.

KCCA made key substitutions in the closing stages, introducing Bright Anukani and Sammy Ssebaduka in the 80th minute, followed later by Alex Yiga and Emmanuel Anyama.

Anukani thought he had doubled the lead in the 88th minute, but his effort was ruled out for offside in the build-up.

After four minutes of added time, the final whistle confirmed a 1–0 win for KCCA FC, enough to secure progression and keep their Stanbic Uganda Cup ambitions firmly on track as they advance to the Round of 16.