Africa-Press – Kenya. Nzoia Sugar’s head coach, Salim Babu, was all smiles after his resurgent team shook off the underdog tag and stunned KCB to claim a crucial away victory.
The millers rode on the momentum they established last weekend in their 1-0 win over Sofapaka to crash their opponents 2-1 at the Moi Stadium, Kasarani on Sunday. Salim said the win was the fruit of determination and resilience in the face of tough opposition.
“We played well, created numerous chances, and made good use of them. We knew we were coming up against a very tough opponent but we were not just going to sit back and defend,” Salim said.
The tactician said they had set their minds on winning the encounter when they arrived in Nairobi. “It’s still too early in the season to start defending and we want to win matches. That’s exactly what we came here to do, ” he said.
KCB head coach Godfrey Oduor said they simply experienced a bad day in the office, having spent the whole week sharpening their talons to claw their opponents.
“We came into this match knowing that we are going to face a tough team. We started well, we got an early goal but it wasn’t enough. I’d like to congratulate Nzoia for winning the match.”
“We came from a tricky match against Bandari in Mombasa where a number of our players collected injuries and had to go for rehabilitation.”
“We’ll keep working with our attacking players to see how we can make good use of our chances. The seasoned gaffer hailed Nzoia for their bravery, saying they displayed great character throughout the closely contested encounter.
“It is a tough team which proved to be a hard nut to crack. We had prepared well throughout the week, so we were ready and focused for the match. Unfortunately, the results didn’t favor us,” Oduor said. Oduor said they will have to strengthen their backline and defend as a team to win their next matches.
“I think you need an excellent defence to win matches. It’s not only us but if you want to win matches then you have to be very good defensively and be very organized. So for us what we did was defend well when we didn’t have that ball. Boniface Munyendo was the toast of the day, twice scoring from the penalty spot as Nzoia Sugar stunned KCB 2-1 at Moi Stadium Kasarani on Sunday.
The visitors made their intentions clear right from kickoff when Eric Sije’s rasping shot from close range forced Byrne Omondi into a full-stretch save. It was Nzoia’s second consecutive win following a narrow 1-0 win over Sofapaka at Kanduyi Stadium in Bungoma.
Their season took off on a torrid note with a 1-0 defeat to Gor Mahia in Nairobi before another average performance saw them share the spoils with Bandari in a barren draw. In another encounter, Kakamega Homeboyz settled for a 1-1 draw against Ulinzi Stars.
Mike Isabwa fired the side into the lead with a thunderbolt long-range attempt just four minutes into play. Hillary Simiyu pounced on a glorious opportunity to restore parity in the 26th minute. Posta Rangers and Nairobi City Stars played out a goalless draw at Thika Stadium.
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