Ulinzi Stars cage lame AFC Leopards: While Thika United pump four past hapless Muhoroni Youth

AFC VS BANDARI
SOCCER-AFC VS BANDARI; AFC leopards fans celebrate their victory from a fence at the Mombasa County Stadium on Saturday,08th November 2014.This was during the final KPL match between Afc and Bandari. Afc won 3;2;PHOTO BY MAARUFU MOHAMED/STANDARD

A fifth minute by strike by Boniface Onyango was all Ulinzi Stars required to maintain their winning streak against AFC Leopards in a Kenyan Premier League match at Afraha Stadium, Nakuru yesterday.

In Thika Stadium, hosts Thika United were the 4-1 runaway winners against the visitors in an ill-tempered match.

In Nakuru, Onyango scored the all-important goal from a corner kick taken by Oliver Rutto, and the match ended 1-0.

The goal inspired the soldiers, who played their hearts out in the first half, but resorted to defensive play in the second, which allowed AFC strikers Timona Wanyonyi and Emmanuel Ngama to make inroads in Ulinzi’s defence.

A good cross from Musa Mudde to Ngama, who later looped it to Wanyonyi, should have given Ingwe an equaliser in the 57th minute, but it missed the target.

Ulinzi’s second half substitute Collins Ochieng should have increased the tally in the dying minutes, but his shot went over with AFC custodian Wycliffe Kasaya well beaten.

Zdravdo Logarusic, the AFC leopards coach blamed the loss on fatigue and lack of concentration by his players, while admitting it was a tough match.

Ulinzi’s tactician Robert Matano said despite the victory, they need to improve on their game and be consistent in order to climb up the log.

Earlier at the same venue, Western Stima defeated Nakuru All Stars by a solitary goal through Fredrick Shimonyo in the 56th minute.

Peter Okidi of Nakuru All Stars said his players have not gelled well, hence the heavy defeats they have shipped home.

“All my players are relatively new and are taking sometime to gel,” he said.

Meanwhile, Thika United were big winners, when they stopped visitors Muhoroni Youth 4-2.

The match had to be stopped for some time when home fans invaded the pitch to protest a penalty, which had been awarded to the visitors. Muhoroni were the more aggressive side and oppened the records in the fifth minute through Antony Nyangor.

The goal added life to the visitors, who kept going for more and the scorer proved a major threat to Thika defenders. However, the home team also had their own chances, but Raymond Omondi was the biggest culprit, as he wasted many of them.

But in the 15th minute, Omondi got his name on the scorer’s list as he equalised for United, before Wycliffe Opondo added Thika’s second.
Ten minutes later, Muhoroni’s Nyangor converted a penalty to restore parity, which marked the beginning of trouble. But normalcy was restored, with Raymond Omondi scoring two more goals to ensure the home side retained all three points.