Can Brewers intoxicate Gor?
By Charles.Thuku, April 9, 2022For Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League cup holders Tusker who were once in the mid-table of the 2021/22 season, it has finally dawned on them that a second gong on a trot is not too much to ask.
Tusker, who are perched in the second position in the chart behind Kakamega Homeboyz, face a massive match against multiple champions Gor Mahia at Thika Stadium this afternoon.
This is a mind-boggling encounter by all standards but over and above, Tusker will be hoping to get all the bragging rights after 90 minutes in their quest to cut short the advantage of Abana Abeingo (Kakamega Homeboyz) in the league’s pecking order.
Tusker and Homeboyz are separated by ten points and the former will be only too eager to register maximum points to leave their opponents breaking a sweat in a recovery mission.
Despite an air of frustration in the brewers’ camp after a drab 1-1 draw with KCB, last weekend, the team’s head coach Robert Matano has declared that he has enough grounds for optimism ahead of the assignment against Gor.
“The match will be like any other but I have this feeling that we can get something out of it. Of course, it has been a challenging period but somehow, we have been conjuring up some decent results that have enabled us to scale the ladder in the standings,” said Matano.
He added: “Obviously when you see players trying their best to catch up with the leading team, you must be happy as a coach. For now, let’s focus on the game against Gor to bring them down to earth and see what happens after that.”
The former league champions are aware of the task that awaits them and coach Robert Matano has called on his charges to put up a solid performance if they are to beat K’Ogalo.
Meantime, Kenya Police who had their egos bruised in a 3-0 defeat by AFC Leopards last weekend will be gunning for redemption when they face FC Talanta.
Already, Police head coach Sammy “Pamzo” Omollo has underlined a clear-cut vision of how they will pick themselves up after the ignominious defeat at the hands of Ingwe.
“We picked a lot of positives in the defeat and I have advised the players to avoid conceding easy goals such as the ones we made in the dark evening against Leopards,” said Omollo while acknowledging that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to return the law enforcers into winning ways.
He expounded: “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and sometimes you draw. All in all, a loss is agonizingly critical and unacceptable and especially when you had been enjoying a purple patch just like us before the misfortune.”
For goals, Police are expected to lean heavily on Clinton Kinanga and Cliffton Miheso who have been averaging a goal per match.
Fifth-placed KCB is exuberant after salvaging a point against Tusker, and will be hoping to evade the attack of Kariobangi Sharks when the two teams come face to face in Ruaraka.