Shared spoils
Former Nairobi Stima scoring sensation Dennis Oalo saved Posta Rangers from the jaws of defeat in a 1-1 draw against Zoo Kericho in a midweek Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League match at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru yesterday.
Oalo, formerly on loan at Gor Mahia from Stima, made the tie all-square with a tap-in inside 68 minutes after Collins Neto had given Zoo the lead in the 42nd minute.
Zoo settled for a similar result with Bandari last weekend and as now, they have gone two matches without a win and lie in the 16th position of the 18-team chart with a paltry two points.
On their part, Posta Rangers are placed eleventh with six points from seven matches.
In the second match of the double-header at Afraha, newly-promoted Bidco United held 2010 league champions Ulinzi Stars to a barren draw.
In the meantime, Portuguese tactician Manulel Vaz Pinto faces his first test as the new Gor Mahia trainer when he leads the defending champions to a potential high-octane match against Mathare United in Kasarani this afternoon.
It will be interesting to watch if Gor players will grab the philosophy of the expatriate trainer who has been with the team for only a few days and what is obvious is that K’ogalo badly needs a win after going through a rough patch lately on the pitch.
Pinto will be handling a despondent team that is smarting from an embarrassing elimination from the Africa Champions League by CR Belouizdad of Algeria on an 8-1 aggregate followed by a 4-3 defeat by Kariobangi Sharks in the league front last weekend.
The indifference performance by Gor has been attributed to de-motivation by players who are owed match bonus and salaries by the management which sometimes leads to boycotting training.
However, the crisis afflicting Gor notwithstanding, it will be unacceptable to their fans for the team to falter for the third time in a trot.
Against Sharks, Gor were slower off the blocks but picked momentum as the game wore on and are expected to be largely inspired by the three players who scored in the evening including Cliffton Miheso, Geoffrey Ochieng and John Macharia.
Another player Gor will pin their hopes on for an improved display is Burundian forward Jules Ulimwengu, the scorer of the face-saving goal in K’ogalo’s massacre by CR Belouizdad.
Mathare will be seeking for their first win of the season after losing their opening match 4-2 to Sofapaka and as such are expected to play their hearts out against the champions.
