Vipers SC and KCCA, two frontrunners in the StarTimes Uganda Premier League title race, both dropped crucial points on matchday 10, leaving NEC as the table leaders.
KCCA extended their winless streak to three matches after a 1-1 draw against Lugazi at the Lugazi Stadium.
The visitors had taken the lead early in the second half when Sadat Anaku converted an assist from Usama Arafat in the 48th minute.
However, Derrick Mwanje’s 77th-minute equalizer, set up by Basham Mugwa, secured a point for Lugazi and denied KCCA a much-needed victory.
The result leaves KCCA in third place with 19 points, trailing the leaders NEC by two points. The team’s last win, a commanding 5-0 triumph over Maroons on October 31, now feels like a distant memory.
Meanwhile, Lugazi, who earned their 11th point of the campaign, remain in 12th place in the 16-team league.
In Kitende, Vipers SC were held to a goalless draw by Kitara in a match where the home side dominated but failed to convert their chances.
Allan Okello came closest for the Venoms, striking the post in the first half.
Despite a series of attacking substitutions in the second half, Vipers could not find the breakthrough as Kitara stood firm to claim a valuable point.
Kitara, buoyed by their recent 4-0 victory over UPDF, moved to eight points but remain in the relegation zone, sitting third from the bottom.
Vipers, who were fresh off a 2-0 win against URA, remain in second place with 21 points, just one behind NEC.
NEC extended their lead at the summit earlier in the matchday by defeating defending champions SC Villa 2-1, ensuring a narrow cushion over their closest challengers.
Only a single point separates the top three teams, NEC, Vipers, and KCCA, all of whom have played 10 matches.
As the league approaches its midway stage, the title race remains finely poised, with each result potentially altering the dynamics at the top.
For Vipers and KCCA, the pressure to return to winning ways intensifies as NEC capitalizes on their slip-ups to maintain pole position.
