Thika United to battle Ushuru as they aim to retain league status

Ushuru Fc's Ian Ngaira (left) and Peter Okoth of Thika United FC during KPL playoffs at Thika Stadium. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Thika United are just 90 minutes away from retaining their status in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) when they play away to Ushuru at Narok Stadium today.

Thika won the first leg of the KPL play-offs 2-1 at home on Thursday and will be declared winners should they pick any kind of draw.

But Thika United coach Nicholas Muyoti remains cautious ahead of the do or die fixture.

“Ushuru is a very good side and gave us a tough time in the first leg but we expect to do well. We particularly had  a good second half and it is just unfortunate that we conceded a goal,” he said.

Muyoti, a former international, admitted that his side had been under a lot of pressure considering the uncertainity around the play-offs.

“We have been under a lot of pressure since the league ended considering the uncertainty around the play-offs. This match has just doubled the pressure but we have to find a way of containing it.”

Muyoti is non-committal on his future plans should the team survive relegation, but reveals that he has already began talks with the management to rebuild the squad ahead of the new season.

“It is too early to talk about next season because we still have this match to play. However, should we survive, we do not want to find ourselves in a similar situation and for this reason, we are already talking to the management on how to do better next year,” added the coach.

Thika United will need to ensure that they do not concede to ensure they win the second leg. They have a solid backline revolving around Badi Baraka, Denis Odhiambo and Suleiman Ngotho.

Upfront, the team will bank on Sammy Meja and Said Tsuma for goals. Having lost the first leg, Ushuru have nothing to lose and will be going all out for victory.

The Ken Kenyatta-led side narrowly missed out on automatic qualification to the KPL league after finishing in third place last year.

The team remains highly motivated to win the return match or risk spending another season in the lower league.

Ushuru have been out of the KPL for just one season and managed to retain most of their players which means that they have the experience to compete at this level.

Elsewhere, Nakumatt have called for trials on January 4 and 5 as they seek to bolster their squad ahead of the new season.