Faruku Miya marked his return in emphatic fashion, netting a brace as Vipers SC secured a commanding 3-0 CECAFA Kagame Cup victory over FC Garde Républicaine in a dominant display.
The Venoms were clinical in the first half, racing into a three-goal lead that ultimately settled the contest before the interval.
Miya set the tone as early as the 15th minute, curling in a superb free-kick to hand Vipers the breakthrough—an ideal statement on his reintroduction to the side.
He nearly doubled the advantage midway through the half, but his powerful strike in the 34th minute drifted narrowly wide.
Moments later, Vipers survived a scare when goalkeeper Loyce Mbaba misjudged a clearance after rushing off his line, only for the Djiboutian side to squander the opportunity.
Miya would not be denied for long. In the 38th minute, he capitalised on hesitant defending from Garde Républicaine, calmly slotting home his second of the evening to extend Vipers’ lead.
On the stroke of half-time, Karim Watambala put the result beyond doubt, finishing off a well-weighted delivery from Odili Chukwuma to make it three.
Vipers maintained control after the restart, with the technical bench ringing the changes just before the hour mark.
Yunus Sentamu, Milton Karisa and Glodi Beyuku were introduced for Chukwuma, Usama Arafat and Gusto Mulongo to keep the tempo high.
Further alterations followed in the 70th minute, as Patrick Mbowa, Derrick Ndahiro and Marvin Youngman replaced Watambala, Nicholas Mwere and Asraf Mandela.
Despite a late attempt to rally, Garde Républicaine lacked the cutting edge to trouble Vipers’ defence, as the Ugandan champions comfortably saw out the match to seal a convincing victory.
