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Gor drop points in Kisumu


Western Stima forced a share of spoils with defending champions Gor Mahia in a pulsating Kenyan Premier League on Sunday at the Moi Stadium in Kisumu.

At Nakuru’s Afraha Stadium, Sony Sugar were held to a barren draw by KCB while Ken Kenyatta’s Ushuru FC beat Nakuru All Stars 2-0 at the Moi International Sports Stadium Kasarani to rise to eighth place on the table.

The match in Kisumu started at a frantic pace with Stima coming close to scoring in the third minute through former K’Ogalo striker Ronald Okoth whose shot went wide.

A minute later, George ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo forced Stima skipper Joash Onyango to clear the ball for a corner that was fruitless.

The hosts should have taken the lead in the fifth minute as Fredrick Shimoyo managed to get past Bonface Oluoch, but his effort went narrowly wide.

On the other end of the pitch, Meddie Kagere thought he had finally opened the scoring 18th minute but his shot was cleared by defender Hudson Muhako.

MISSED CHANCES

Gor Mahia had another good chance to break the deadlock in the 44th minute when Odhiambo’s found Kagere with a fine pass but the latter blasted wide.

Stima coach Henry Omino rued the missed chances in the first half, but said that he was impressed with the results.

“We should have won this match because the boys created quite a number of scoring chances,” Omino said.

The match between Nakuru All Stars and Ushuru FC was a crying shame in terms of security with only two police officers in sight out of the recommended ten.

In addition there were only three ball boys for the entire first half as opposed to the required six, something that irked the visiting team.

The match commissioner however allowed the match to proceed, and veteran midfielder Charles Okwemba scored a goal in either half of the match to help the taxmen clinch their fourth win of the season.

The former AFC Leopards captain sent Ushuru ahead in the first minute through a penalty after All Stars defender Amon Muchiri handled the ball in the box.

OKWEMBA BRACE

Okwemba completed his brace in the fifth minute of added time with a powerful free kick to condemn All Stars to their sixth consecutive loss.

“Today I started with changed squad but the players still delivered. For that I am very happy because it shows that all my players are worthy of being in the starting lineup,” said coach Ken Kenyatta.

Meanwhile, Gor Mahia will make their second straight appearance in the Cecafa Kagame Cup Club Championship in Tanzania in July.

The tournament is strictly a preserve of clubs that have won their respective league titles in East and Central Africa.

Tanzania, who had initially failed to guarantee the funding of the tournament after being awarded the hosting rights, will field two teams, Azam and Yanga SC, while Sudan could also send two clubs to the event, defending champion El Merreikh and Al Hilal.

Gor, who are three-time winners of the tournament, will be seeking a much better performance at this edition of the competition, following a dismal outing last year when the club under then coach Bobby Williamson failed to win any of the four matches.