Weekend round up

Courtesy of The Daily Nation Spanking new Kenyan Premier League leaders Tusker will be looking to maintain their recent shining form when they face fourth-placed Western Stima at Bukhungu Stadium on Saturday. Third-placed Thika United eye the top spot but face a tricky outing against Chemelil Sugar in Chemelil on Saturday. Recently deposed table leaders Sofapaka confront wounded defending champions Mathare United in an attractive fixture at Coca-Cola Stadium on Sunday. And improving Gor Mahia are up to a stern test against home side Sony Sugar at the difficult Awendo venue on Sunday. But the tie of the weekend will be on-form team of the moment, Tusker, against surprise early season pace setters Western Stima. Slow starting brewers lapped up four wins in a row, a notice of intent to reclaim the title. "This is a good team and it has picked up quite well. We just want to maintain our momentum and see how the league goes," Tusker coach James Nandwa said. The brewers will be without influential midfielder Fred Ajwang, on suspension after picking three yellow cards, and Edwin Mukenya, who is down with malaria. But they welcome back international Joseph Njoroge in the forward line to join productive Nigerian striker Joseph Emeka, who has five strikes thus far, and Kenya trialist Augustine Etemesi. Western Stima, who just survived relegations last season, have gone two matches without a win but their early season form makes them dangerous. Coach Fred Serenge will draw confidence from their unbeaten home record but should be wary of Tusker, who have won away twice. Thika United are without their lead striker Stephen Waruru, who has joined the Armed Forces, but can look to Haji Mwachoki and George Maina against Chemelil Sugar. Humiliation Mathare will want to forget their 3-1 humiliation at the hands of Gor a week ago with a win against highflying newcomers Sofapaka. Mathare have struggled to find the form that made them the most feared team last season reflected in their won four, drawn three, lost four record. But even as they struggled to adapt to life without last season's top scorer Francis Ouma, the champs were dealt another blow last month when midfield mainstay Austin Makacha left for Swedish second division's IK Sirius. Sofapaka, intent on regaining their league lead, can look to the exciting Congolese teenager Patrick Kagogo for inspiration. The Standard carries these stories . Pressure is on Mathare Club versus country rows City Stars striker Odari back to face KPL in today's KPL action   Interest in Mariga from Valencia

Monday happy to return to team

Courtesy of The Standard

International midfielder, Osborne Monday, is happy to return to the national team after being left out during the Tunisia match.

Monday, who was a regular player in former coach Francis Kimanzi’s squad, earned his first call-up under tactician Antoine Hey when the German named his provisional 23-man team last week. He has vowed to fight for first team slot.

In the absence of veterans Austine Makacha, Titus Mulama and Jamal Mohammed, all of whom have been axed from the team, Monday, who was outstanding at the Ceacafa Senior Challenge Cup in Uganda early this year, is highly tipped to assume the midfield role alongside influential McDonald Mariga, who plies trade for Serie B giants Parma FC in Italy.

"I am happy to be given this chance and I am going to prove my worth in the team. I know the competition will be stiff but I’m ready for the challenge and I will strive to maintain my first team position.

"Nigeria’s match is very tricky and crucial for us but they are not in any way superior to us. I believe it will be an equal contest but we have to be very focused and prepared," said Monday who joined Tanzania’s league side Azam United from regional club champions Tusker FC.

Meanwhile, international players from Tanzania league champions Yanga are expected to join the rest of the squad on Sunday.

Speaking to striker Bonface Ambani on phone from Dar es Salaam, he said they had delayed to join the camp because they had to clear with their club first.

"The league has just ended and we are yet to receive our wages from the club.

"This is what is holding us here, but I believe everything will be sorted out soon and we will probably be in Nairobi by Saturday and join camp on Sunday," said Ambani.

Stars’ players support coach Hey on commitment letters

Courtesy of The Standard
Local Harambee Stars players are supporting coach Antoine Hey’s move to introduce players’ commitment letters as a mandatory requirement to be part of the squad.

Hey introduced the rule for the first time in the history of the team after four Mathare United players left camp without notice to join their club a week before Kenya opened their 2010 World Cup/ Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in March.

Led by former skipper, Edgar Ochieng’, who was a victim of the club verses national team battle, the players welcomed the rule, saying it was the best approach to handle the differences emerging between the clubs and national teams about the players.

Tusker FC’s defender Joseph Shikokoti supported Ochieng’s sentiments, saying players were just victims of circumstances when football chiefs collided with club officials.

Used as pawns

"The letter will show our commitment to the national team and, while we are on national duty, we should be focused and concentrate rather than be used as pawns in wars we know nothing about.

"All we want to do is to play football. We can’t do without our clubs because that is where we earn our living. Neither can we jeopardise a chance to represent the national team," said the towering defender after yesterday’s training.

Stars broke camp yesterday afternoon for weekend’s Kenya Premier League fixtures set for different venues.

Hey has asked all players to carry commitment letters signed by their club’s chairmen when they return to camp on Sunday evening, failure of which they would be dropped from the squad.

He said he wanted to end uncertainty of players and instil discipline in the team when the camp resumes on Monday.

"We have to run the national team as one and we cannot entertain some things if we want to progress. I wouldn’t want a situation like what happened with the four Mathare United players a week before our crucial match against Tunisia.

Stars training at risk as FKL and KPL feud

Kenya's Mike Baraza (L) and team mate Makacha Austin battle with Salah Osman of Sudan during a past match. Photo/MOHAMMED AMIN.   By CHARLES NYENDE/NATION MEDIA GROUP Another feud between Football Kenya Limited and Kenyan Premier League threatens to derail the now dwindling hopes of Harambee Stars making it to the World Cup in South Africa and African Cup of Nations in Angola in 2010. At the centre of the current row is a club-versus-country tussle and the perceived aloofness of the current head coach Antoine Hey towards local coaches. Hey, who was appointed in March, stirred up the current fight last week when, on announcing his provisional side, said all the players selected must sign a commitment letter. Included in the commitment was a clause for players to agree that national duties took precedence over club matters. Hey was apparently attempting to stamp his authority guided by hindsight following the walk out of four Mathare United players - on orders from their club - from his previous camp without permission. Disharmony The two Mathare United players he named for the current camp – Edgar Ochieng and Titus Mulama, delayed reporting to allow for their employer to study this commitment letter. But the disharmony between the clubs and the national team had been playing on from another letter. On April 20, KPL, who provide the bulk of national team players, wrote a letter to FKL requesting a discussion on the annual and long term training plans for Harambee Stars. In the letter KPL went ahead to propose their training plan in which they would release their players for a specified number of days for club duty. According to KPL chairman Bob Munro, no response was received from the FKL who instead made their own plans that included the team beginning residential training this week and a two-week camp in German. The German camp has since been cancelled. "Why did FKL fail to consult or propose another plan this year and instead chose to ignore the Fifa rules as well as the best and mutual interest of the national team and its own member clubs," Munro questioned FKL in a letter on Monday. But FKL secretary Sammy Obingo accused KPL of wanting to run Harambee Stars saying the federation had told the clubs that their players will be needed for extra days to prepare for the qualifiers. The result has been an uneasy situation at the camp with the innocent players caught in the middle. A Premiership club official who sits in the board said the Harambee Stars management had resorted to calling individual players directly without passing through their respective clubs. Talking tough Hey has meanwhile been talking tough saying he would axe players who did not toe his line. The two Mathare United players who delayed reporting to camp were the subject of Hey's displeasure. It is instructive that Hey in fact picked only two players from the current KPL champions for Stars upcoming fixture. This is in sharp contrast to the last group phase round of qualifiers when Stars, then under Francis Kimanzi, had seven players from Mathare in the national team. Almost the entire defense, which at one point went through 360 minutes of World Cup qualification action without conceding a single goal, was composed of Mathare players. Only reliable central defender Edgar Ochieng survived. Hey has also left out several deserving players such as Anthony Kimani, Austin Makacha and Jamal Mohammed and also failed to meet the KPL coaches formally or informally. The unwelcome product is a disruptive relationship between the national coach and KPL clubs.

Yes, we can clip Eagles’ wings - coach Hey

Harambee Stars midfielder Victor Mugabe arrives at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, on Monday for the team’s 2010 World Cup qualifiers camp. The Stars face Nigeria next month. Photo/CHRIS OMOLLO

Courtesy of the Daily Nation

Harambee Stars’ coach Antoine Hey is confident that the national football team will put behind their 2-1 loss to Tunisia in March as they aim for at least a point when they play away to Nigeria next month in a 2010 World Cup qualifier.

“Last month’s loss is all behind us as we open a new chapter. We need four points to stay in the competition. There has to be seriousness from our part and the players too, if we are going to achieve this,” said Hey.

Speaking to the Daily Nation on phone on Monday, the tactician said that the 1996 Atlanta Olympics gold medalists, Nigeria, can be defeated.

“When a team is playing at home, they’re bound to make mistakes mostly because they’re under pressure.

“I’m optimistic that we can beat Nigeria, since they will be under similar conditions,” said Hey.

The former Liberia national coach cited a few personal mistakes in the Kenyan defence that cost the side maximum points, but said they (team) will correct them in time for the Nigeria tie.

“Every team plays to win, but again, there is the other that loses.

“There were several mistakes in that game and we are going to address them before our next match,” he said.

Maybe it was part of his correction and taming the recurrence of these mistakes that the coach when naming a provisional 23-man team, dropped Sher Karuturi’s custodian Noah Ayuko, who was between the posts during the Tunisia match.

Others dropped includes Petro Atletico’s Allan Wanga and Taiwo Atieno.

And with only 32 days left before the match, Hey said that he is not concerned about the limited training period he has with the team saying that he is focusing on creating a side that will work together.

“There’s a lot that has to be done. We will not go to Abuja just as tourists, that’s why we have to come up with a cohesive outfit,” said Hey, who was previously involved Gambia as their head coach.

“We have few days. I know we have an uphill task but we cannot run away from it. We’ll face it the way it is,” he added.

Regular place

Hey added that the team starts training on Tuesday and in the absence of established players, it provides an opportunity for some of the players in camp to push for a regular place in the starting eleven.

Already, 10 Harambee Stars players have reported to the team’s camp at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, in readiness for next month’s away tie.

“You know we have players all over the world, some in the region and others in Europe, but for the players who are here, it’s a great exposure for them,” he said.

The coach also believes that the withdrawal of Mathare United players days to the Tunisian tie will not replay itself this time round to overshadow the team’s preparations.

Gor teenager wins over fans with his brace

Gor Mahia’s schoolboy George Odhiambo (left) shields the ball away from a Thika United played at a past Premier League match at the Coca-Cola stadium on Saturday. Duncan Owiti, another teenage sensation at Gor Mahia, dazzled fans with his brace against current champions Mathare United . Photo/MOHAMMED AMIN


Courtesy of the Daily Nation

Of the seven Kenyan Premier League matches played over the weekend, Gor Mahia’s 3-1 win over champions Mathare United was the talk of the town, as four other matches ended in draws.

Going into this game, many feared that Gor might wobble against a hungry, in-form United, but those fears looked to be unfounded as soon as the match played at the Coca-Cola National Stadium kicked off, because Gor’s youngsters were more than a match for an experienced United team.

The 18-year-old Duncan Owiti, making his first appearance with the big side, cannoned a shot from 25 metres 15th minute for his side’s opener, before flicking in his second, moments after resumption for the second half.

“That was a day of my dreams,” said the former Thur Gem Secondary School student, who assumed the striker’s role from regular Habil Otieno.

“It was a dream to have a debut and score goals like that,” he added. “I need to keep going like that and enjoy.”

Owiti dressed because both Otieno and John Ringo sat on the bench.

That didn’t stop stand-in coach Gideon Ochieng’ from putting the youngster in.

“It was a gamble,” he said. “Winning is the name of the game at this club. Yes, we take risks, but that is part of football.”

Peter Opiyo was given the responsibility of taking charge of the former champions’ midfield alongside Tony Onyango and the Harambee Stars man battled hard and took the eye with his surging runs and tackling.

The average age of Gor’s team was just 25 and the youngest player on the pitch, Kamukunji schoolboy, George Odhiambo (17 years), was arguably the most composed of the lot.

Although he’s only played three times for Gor’s first-team, the 17-year-old striker once again looked like the real deal.

Playing at the Coca-Cola National Stadium is a test for any forward, not least because of the hostile crowds behind Gor’s delivery, and then there’s the energy sapping turf and the sense of occasion.

The stadium didn’t faze Owiti in any sense. His link-up play with Odhiambo was hugely impressive.

Unlike Ringo and Zaboln Otieno, who are all essentially second strikers, the young lad is a genuine number nine in the making, he leads the line superbly and his close control is excellent.

Against what was an excellent United defence, Owiti was happy to receive the ball in any situation, such a pity that Gor couldn’t make that vital breakthrough in the first minutes of the match.

United were then awarded a penalty minutes later but Anthony Khadudu, who had been taking penalties in recent matches for Mathare United, did not have the coolness he required as he shot into George Odhiambo’s hands

Courtesy of the KPL: Tusker top KPL

Tusker beat AFC Leopards 3-2 at the Coca Cola Stadium on Friday to jump to the top of the Kenyan Premier League table. It was the first time in the season that Tusker, the 2007 champions, held the leadership and pundits who pick them as one of the title favourites would appear right. Tusker led 1-0 at half time in the thrilling match. Nathan Mutenza struck in the 38th minute but Leopards were the quickest off the blocks in the second half, Sebastian Muchera equalising in the 46th minute. Leopards grabbed the lead in the 50th minute when skipper Francis Xavier converted a penalty. But Joseph Emeka (64th minute) and Jerry Santos (72') ensured victory for Tusker. Mathare United 1 Gor Mahia 3 Duncan Owiti, a schoolboy whose age does not even appear in Gor Mahia 2009 roster, assumed the striker's role from regular Habil Otieno and unleashed one of the biggest upsets of the season at Coca Cola Stadium on Saturday. Owiti sparkled with a brace of goals for Gor Mahia to stun champions Mathare United 3-1. The rookie player's first was a 15th minute long range effort that caught the Mathare defence completely flat-footed before the ball went past goalkeeper Duncan Ochieng'. Mathare were then awarded a penalty by referee Haji Omulitsya from Mumias. Yet again, a section of unruly Gor supporters caused an ugly scene, protesting against the award by hurling chairs and objects towards the pitch. Anthony Khadudu, who had been in good scoring form, including taking a penalty in recent matches for Mathare United, did not have the coolness he needed. He shot wide. When calm resumed Mathare hunted for the equaliser and Joseph Nyaga missed a great opportunity in the 35th minute. His team was to find itself farther behind when Gor captain and Harambee Stars defender Julius "Awilo" Owino scored to make it 2-0 in the 40th minute. Owino�s goal was another effort for a distance. Gor came into the second half running rings around Mathare United in the midfield to the much joy of their supporting faithful. They were to savour the unfamiliar 3-0 score line in their favour when young Owiti scored his second in the 48th minute. Owiti flicked on the ball with his head when he received it from his captain's (Owino) throw-in. United's consolation was Jaffar Gichuki's goal in the 52nd minute because after that Gor Mahia frantically defended their famous lead to the end. Mathare coach Francis Kimanzi said his team was caught cold in a number of occasions. Their captain, Anthony Kimani, said Gor Mahia were the better side on the day. "We put up a spirited fight ; it was just one of those bad days for us. Losing is part of the sport and we are capable of bouncing back in our next match." Gor skipper Owino said: "We prepared well for the match. We unveiled a new striker in place of our usual Habil Otieno. We are happy with Duncan Owiti's goals. Apparently, Mathare did not care much about him as they concentrated on dealing with our key players. "I'm delighted we have won the match because this will give us more motivation and drive in our forthcoming matches." 3 May SonySugar 1-0 Bandari KCB 2-2 Red Berets 2 May Mathare United 1-3 Gor Mahia Ulinzi Stars 2-1 Chemelil Sugar Agrochemicals 1-1 Western Stima Sher Karuturi 0-0 Sofapaka Thika United 1-1 Nairobi City Stars