Kisumu All Stars upbeat ahead of Kibera Black Stars duel

Kisumu All Stars Patrick Ochieng celebrates after scoring. [Washington Onyango, The Standard]

Kisumu All Stars are confident of closing the gap on log leaders FC Talanta when they face Kibera Black Stars on Saturday (today) at Ligi Ndogo Grounds in Nairobi.

Speaking to The Standard Sports, All Stars captain Bobby Kwaka said their journey of returning back to the topflight league starts against Kibera.

“Nothing beats playing in the premier league. As a team, our objective is to achieve that goal and we start the ascending with a win against Kibera,” he said.

Despite not playing competitively since March 26 when sports was suspended again, Kwaka said they are more than ready for the league than before after working out some of their earlier problems.

“I think it has been to our advantage to some sort because we learnt new things during the break. The coach also never had enough time for pre-season so we utilised the two months,” Kwaka added.

Kisumu All Stars are seventh with 25 points, a point behind Kibera who are joint fifth with Fortune Sacco with 26 points.

Migori Youth's Yusuf Ochieng (centre) takes to the pitch during a past match. [Washington Onyango, The Standard]

Elsewhere, Migori Youth captain Clifford Otieno said they are seeking their second consecutive away win when they play Coast Stima today in Mombasa.

Stima are coming off a disappointing 2-0 defeat to relegation threatened Muranga Seals as Migori earned an impressive 2-0 victory over hosts Mwatate United during the rescheduled matches played in midweek.

“We are very confident and beefed up after a massive win in midweek and we expect to play even more against Stima. It won’t be easy but we have the momentum already,” said Otieno.

Three more matches are on the cards on Saturday as round 18 is expected to kick off with 10 teams playing for the first time since March.

Bottom placed Mt. Kenya United FC will host third placed Vihiga Bullets FC at Camp Toyoyo, Soy United host Gusii FC at Bukhungu Stadium as Silibwet entertain Modern Coast Rangers in Bomet Stadium.

Saturday NSL Round 18 Fixtures

Soy United vs Gusii (Bukhungu Stadium, 3 pm)

Silibwet vs Modern Coast Rangers (Bomet Stadium, 3 pm)

Mt. Kenya United vs Vihiga Bullets (Camp Toyoyo, 3 pm)

Kibera Black Stars vs Kisumu Allstars (Ligi Ndogo Grounds, 3 pm)