Mathare, Naivas win to stay on course in promotion race
Abdulamin Mwaranjira (right) of Mombasa Stars FC and Abednego Nyakundi of Gusii vie for the ball during their National Super League (NSL) match at Mbaraki Sports Club in Mombasa on February 3, 2024.
What you need to know:
- Leaders Naivas beat Nairobi United at Mpesa Foundation in Thika to increase their tally to 42 points while Mathare registered a similar result against visiting Mombasa Elite at Ruaraka Grounds to remain second on 40 points. Robert Karisa scored both goals for the retailers in the 61st and 72 minutes respectively.
Promotion-chasing Naivas and Mathare United won their National Super League (NSL) matches on Saturday to maintain their top two positions as the first leg fixtures end this weekend.
Leaders Naivas beat Nairobi United at Mpesa Foundation in Thika to increase their tally to 42 points while Mathare registered a similar result against visiting Mombasa Elite at Ruaraka Grounds to remain second on 40 points. Robert Karisa scored both goals for the retailers in the 61st and 72 minutes respectively.
Naivas coach Collins Omondi praised his players after the win, urging them to continue registering victories in the remaining matches.
“They played exactly how we planned and I’m so happy with the result. I’m very pleased with the progress of the new players who joined us recently,” said the former Nzoia Sugar tactician who was appointed in September, taking over from Elvis Ayany.
Elsewhere, Mombasa Stars, buoyed by home fans, hit visiting Gusii FC 2-1 at Mbaraki Sports Club, but it was another disappointment for Kajiado FC who lost 2-1 to Mara Sugar at home.
The win at Ildamat in Kajiado County has seen Mara jump up to third on the table with 36 points, swapping places with Nairobi United who have dropped to fourth on 35.
At Mbaraki, Mombasa Stars opened the scoring chapter three minutes into the match through Emmanuel Nyamawi, before Gusii equalised through Bill Okite in the 45th minute.
Mombasa Stars coach Mohamed Hussein Madaga said the game was tough as they did not expect their opponents to play the way they did. “We started well but they came back strongly we had to tell our players how to play it cool and we managed to score the match-winner in the second half,” he said.
Gusii FC coach Dennis Onkangi said they started badly but improved to level the score before halftime. “Many of my players are young and inexperienced but I hope we’ll pick up in our future matches,” he said.
The second-tier league continues on Sunday afternoon with 10 matches on the cards.
SS Assad expected to continue their consistent form when they host Kibera Black Stars at Ukunda Showground.
Other matches are Mully Children’s Family v Dimba Patriots (Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos), Rainbow v Silibwet Leons (Vapor Grounds, Ngong), Mulembe United v Kisumu AllStars (Mumais Sports Complex).
