All eyes on Kamau as struggling Mathare United face Homeboyz
Football
By
Washington Onyango
| Feb 12, 2022
Struggling Mathare United will be hoping to make it two wins in a row when they host leaders Kakamega Homeboyz at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on Saturday as the second leg of the 2021/22 Football Kenya Federation Premier League kicks off this weekend.
New coach John Kamau ended Mathare United 12-match winless streak after seeing off Talanta 2-0 on last Saturday.
The change of guard at Mathare which shocked fans after the appointment of the former Wazito coach who had no roots or ties to the club’s traditions of picking tacticians affiliated to the club seemed to have worked.
The win saw Mathare United take their points tally to 10 points from 17 points, but they are still second from bottom in the league.
However, Kamau faces his real test as he takes on league leaders who have only lost once this season.
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At Utalii Grounds, third-placed KCB will be banking on their good form to propel them against struggling Bandari and cut the gap between them and leaders Homeboyz.
Bandari are winless in the six past matches with the poor performances in the recent matches seeing the club drop from the top four to position eight on 25 points from 17 matches.
Additionally, KCB have won thrice in the last five meetings with Bandari and go into the match as favorites.
Meanwhile, Tusker goalkeeper Patrick Matasi says he is pleased with the team’s fighting spirit as the defending champions prepare to welcome Ulinzi Stars at Ruaraka Grounds.
Matasi believes Tusker, who have been blowing hot and cold this season, have shown team work in not only recent matches but also on the training ground and that will help the team perform better in the upcoming matches.
The brewers have picked 10 points out of a possible 12 in the last four matches.
“Teamwork and fighting spirit was a bit lost but now we can see that it is there. We have shown some great form of working together and compactness. Everyone is working and pushing each other from the training ground to matches,” said Matasi.
“We played back to back matches against Vihiga and got four points. We have now played the same against bandari and got six and this shows that we are building on the momentum. These results give everyone motivation to keep fighting,”
“The win against Bandari showed the qualities of a champion. We fought till the end even when the tide was against us and got good results. Now we have another tough similar assignment against Ulinzi Stars and we hope that we will achieve the same result.”
“If we go with the same strategy with concentration and teamwork, I know everything will be okay,” stated Matasi.
Other matches of the day will feature Bidco united taking on Talanta and Wazito hosting Sofapaka.
Saturday FKF-PL Fixtures
Bidco United - Talanta Thika Stadium
KCB - Bandari Utalii Grounds
Mathare United - Kakamega Homeboyz Kasarani Main Stadium
Tusker - Ulinzi Stars Ruaraka Grounds
Wazito - Sofapaka Nyayo National Stadium