NSL: Mathare United stay top of the pile
What you need to know:
- Mara Sugar, under new coach Vincent Nyaberi, registered a 3-2 victory over Mombasa Elite at Awendo Green Stadium ending a poor run that saw them lose two matches and a draw under caretaker coach Godfrey Naibei.
- The Narok-based outfit has not tested victory after the departure of Francis Xavier who joined Premier League side Sofapaka as an assistant coach to Ezekiel Akwana.
Mathare United maintained their slim lead over Kisumu All Stars at the top of the National Super League (NSL) after the weekend round of matches.
Both teams won their matches on Saturday, with Mathare edging visiting Mully Children’s Family (MCF) 1-0 at Ruaraka Grounds in Nairobi courtesy of Meshack Ochieno’s header with 10 minutes to play, while beat Dimba Patriots 2-1 at Moi Stadium in Kisumu.
Mathare with a match in hand lead the standings with 19 points, one ahead of All Stars who have played nine matches.
“It was a tough match, but the important thing is we got the three points. MCF have a good team and I’m’ even surprised they are not in the top-five today,” said Mathare United official Jackton Obure.
Mara Sugar, under new coach Vincent Nyaberi, registered a 3-2 victory over Mombasa Elite at Awendo Green Stadium ending a poor run that saw them lose two matches and a draw under caretaker coach Godfrey Naibei.
The Narok-based outfit has not tested victory after the departure of Francis Xavier who joined Premier League side Sofapaka as an assistant coach to Ezekiel Akwana.
Migori Youth beat visiting SS Assad 3-1 at Migori Stadium with goals from Felix Otieno, Clinton Okoth and Eric Machure in the 33rd, 42nd and 64th minutes respectively.
“We played well, dominating all the proceedings and we are now focusing on the next match in Mombasa against Mombasa Elite scheduled for Sunday,” said Migori Youth assistant coach Kevin Oluoch, who was in charge in the absence of head coach Peter Odidi.
Meanwhile, Dimba Patriots FC have accused a section of match officials of biased officiating during their matches especially when playing away.
“Some referees openly favored home teams by even awarding them dubious penalties,” said the club CEO Naftal Aseka.
“There is a clique of referees who are used to determine the outcome by making decisions to favour home teams. We could be among the top five were it not for poor officiating. I am disappointed!” said Aseka who also doubles as the team manager.
RESULTS
Nairobi United 1 Vihiga Bullets 1, Mara Sugar 3 Mombasa Elite 2, Mathare United 1 MCF 0, Kisumu All Stars 2 Dimba Patriots 1, Darajani Gogo 1 Kajiado FC 0.