Vihiga United going flat out for win in return leg play-off

Vihiga United coach Sammy Okoth has promised to unleash full attacking force against Kisumu All Stars in Wednesday’s return leg of the end of the season Kenyan Premier League-cum-National Super League play-off.

The tactician is confident that the National Super League (NSL) side will overturn the 2-1 defeat they suffered against their opponents last Saturday at Mumias Sports Complex in Kakamega County.

The match kick-off is at 3pm at an empty Moi Stadium in Kisumu.

Okoth told Nation Sport that he will not take any chances this time round. He will be banking on the attacking trio of Dennis Wafula, Juniour Adefa and Alex Imbusia upfront to hunt for the two much needed goals to overturn All Stars’ win.

The three players scored 22 goals collectively during the regula NSL season which was suspended in March after just 18 rounds of matches due to the coronavirus pandemic which led to stoppage of sporting activities across the globe.

Coincidentally, it is Wafula who replaced Imbusia on the pitch last weekend and went on to score in the 76th minute to cancel out Willis Otenda's first half strike before Shadrack Otieno Omondi scored the late winner for All Stars in the ill-tempered clash.

Wafula 25, a former Oserian striker, was the team's top scorer last season in the NSL on nine goals, with Imbusia bagging six and Adefa netting seven times.

"This is a very tough match, and I can't take chances any more. We shall attack the whole of 90 minutes as we aim to reverse the defeat by scoring two important goals. We have not lost hope in getting a good result which will take us back to the top league," said Okoth.

He revealed that the team has had intensive training sessions at Senende High School ground since Sunday where they worked on the mistakes that made them concede an early penalty and a late goal.

"We have a game plan which I am sure will upset our opponents in the second leg. Apart from attacking, we have to ensure we dominate the midfield so that my strikers can aim for high balls and capitalise on the mistakes from their defence. Nothing is impossible in football as we also have back up plans if they out play us in any position," added Okoth.

On the other hand, Kisumu All Stars coach Andrew Aroka is worried that he will miss his captain Bobby Kwaka but has tipped Walter Oduor to fill the void at the heart of the defence. Kwaka was shown the red card after a scuffle ensued between the two teams in the 87th minute of the first leg.

Aroka said that his team will go for early goals so as to make the job more difficult for Vihiga. He said that playing at Moi Stadium is an advantage because it is the venue they have used for training in the past one week.

"We first trained at Obunga grounds, but reverted to this place last week. We won the first leg away and we want toto pull the first punch by scoring an early goal. This will make the match a mountain to climb for our opponents who showed a lot of resilience in the last duel," he said.

The youthful tactician said that with their qualification in the top-tier league beckoning his main aim will be to make the club a middle-table team.

All Stars escaped relegation by a whisker as they finished 16th in the 18-table Kenyan Premier League (KPL) team in their maiden season. Vihiga, who were relegated from KPL in the 2018 season, are plotting a comeback.

They are participating in the play-offs after finishing third in NSL behind leaders Nairobi City Stars and Bidco who earned automatic promotion to the BetKing Premier League.

The team which will earn promotion today plays against the 2010 KPL champions Ulinzi Stars in the league opener slated for November 21 at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru.

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