By Ben Ahenda and Gilbert Wandera

Ulinzi Stars beat Western Stima by a solitary goal in a scrappy Kenyan Premier League match at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru.

The soldiers took a second minute lead through the in-form scorer Evans Amuoka who collected a long pass from midfielder Steve Ocholla and unleashed a powerful left foot drive, which beat goalkeeper David Ouma all the way.

The victory pushed Ulinzi Stars to 33 points from 18 matches level with Sofapaka.

The slow-paced match saw both teams miss good chances in the first half.

Wesley Kemboi should have levelled for Western Stima in the 30th minute, but his shot was foiled by defender Kevin Ouma, who covered for beaten custodian Jackton Odhiambo.

Stima’s Fred Nyarombo beat the Ulinzi defence, but blasted the ball wide in early in the second half. A minute later, Western Stima second half substitute Alloice Mangi also missed the target.

Ulinzi coach Sammy Simiyu was a disappointed man at the end of the match.

Under pressure

“Although we won the match, my boys failed to click after we scored the early goal. In fact we were under pressure most of the time,” he said.

Western Stima tactician Henry Omino said they lost concentration after the goal and their moves could not add up in every opportunity that went their way. “We will make amends in the next game,” said Omino.

Elsewhere, the green army is headed to Nakuru on Sunday where Gor Mahia tackle Chemelil Sugar, adds Gilbert Wandera.

There are four matches lined-up in different venues on Sunday.

Though, Chemelil are the hosts, the match has been moved to Nakuru due to the huge crowd expected to watch the tie considering that Gor Mahia are enjoying a good run in the league.

Gor Mahia go into the match on a high. The team has won their last six fixtures and are sixth on the log, which gives them an edge over stubborn Chemelil.

It has been almost a fairytale for Gor since Croatian Zdravko Logarusic took over as coach three months ago.

At the time of his signing, Gor were struggling to win matches and even found themselves flirting with relegation at some point, but the turn-around has been tremendous. Gor go into this match on the back of a 3-1 win over KCB last Sunday, and will be keen to extend their winning run.