Sofapaka pip Chemelil as league resumes
Ugandan striker Herman Wasswa scored on his debut as Sofapaka pipped Chemelil Sugar 1-0 in a closely contested Kenyan Premier League match at the Afraha Stadium on Tuesday.
This is Chemelil’s second straight loss following their humiliating 4-1 defeat at the hands of Gor Mahia at the same venue on June 27.
But Sofapaka were not good in any way; they should count themselves lucky for carrying the day.
Wasswa soared high to head home past goalkeeper Fredrick Onyango in the 29th minute following a corner kick by Fwadi Ndaiyisenga.
The sugar millers dominated the second half and pressed hard but their striking force of Daniel Murage, Joseph Kariuki and Aloice Mangi failed to use at least four scoring chances they created.
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY
In the 72nd minute, Mangi had a golden opportunity when he had a throughball but with a yawning goal infront, he shot over the cross bar.
“It was a bad day in office. We lacked concentration and the most of our set pieces were misplaced. We had four chances but we missed all of them while our opponents had a single chance and made good use of it,” said Chemelil coach Mike Mururi.
Sofapaka coach Sam Timbe said the new players signed during the June transfer window are yet to gel with the rest of the squad.
“I greatly miss my six players and it is not easy for new players to fit into a system they were not used to. We made mistakes but I hope to work on them ahead of my next fixture against Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB),” said Timbe.
There are seven matches on Wednesday with champions Gor Mahia facing Thika United at the City Stadium.
ATTACKING PLAN
Gor deputy coach John ‘Bobby’ Ogolla has called on his charges to stick to their attacking plan this afternoon.
“We always attack and my players have perfected that,” Ogolla said.
“Whenever we surge forward, we create room for the defenders to re-organise themselves and this means they are always fresh and full of gas to protect our territory when invaded.”
Thika coach Tim Brytte expects a tough match from the champions, who beat his boys 2-0 at the Safaricom Kasarani Stadium in the first leg.
“We have everybody fit. The boys are focused and I expect an entertaining duel. Gor is a big club and a good team, but we are equally prepared for the match. We had a good first leg and if we can build on that then we can have a good finish,” Brytte said.
The Briton is likely to hand a start to youngster Abdullah Asad Musa, whom he signed from his previous club, Nairobi City Stars.