By Victor Turinawe.
Faculty of Engineering and Technology (FEDT) are through to the finals of the 2026 Uganda Christian University Inter-Faculty Games after knocking out the School of Law on penalties, winning 6-5 in a dramatic semi-final encounter.
In a game of high intensity and pressure, surpassed by grit and determination from both sides struggling to reach the final, the match ended 1-1 in normal time following Joshua Aisu’s opener for the Engineering students before half-time and a late equaliser from Valerian Mugisha for the School of Law after heading in a rebound off the crossbar from Alvin Oketch’s effort.
The three-time semi-finalists, FEDT, outshone last edition’s first runners-up, the School of Law. They were more composed from defence to attack, while Law was defensively solid but poor and inconsistent in midfield.
At full time, the two sides headed into a penalty shoot-out, which ended 6-5 in favour of FEDT. The acting goalkeeper of FEDT, Crispus Eguma, emerged as the match winner after saving the penalty taken by the School of Law captain to seal victory after eight penalties from either side.
The shootout was also marred by drama and chaos when the FEDT goalkeeper got injured, and the team wanted to substitute him with another goalkeeper from the bench, something Law players opposed on grounds of football rules contradiction.
However, the rule which Law relied on to oppose the substitution had since been changed, and once a team still has a remaining substitute on the bench, he or she can be brought on during the penalty shoot-out to replace an injured goalkeeper.
Nonetheless, FEDT accepted to replace the injured goalkeeper Victor Mpaata with a field player, Crispus Eguma, who eventually became the hero after saving the final penalty to send his team to the grand final scheduled for Saturday, 30 May 2026.
“I feel so excited. For the past three years, we have been reaching the semi-finals, but we couldn’t make it to the finals. Today, I gave it my all because I really wanted us to reach the finals by all means,” said joyful Eguma.
“When I was substituted to replace the goalkeeper, I just got motivated. I felt that maybe I could be the one to save the team at that moment because they did not allow another goalkeeper substitution. I trusted myself and said, ‘Let me go and do this to help my team reach the finals.’”
Their qualification to the final means FEDT will now wait for the winner of the second semi-final between the School of Business and the School of Social Sciences, scheduled for tomorrow.
