Police, Ulinzi share spoils at Kasarani
Kenya Police FC coach Sammy “Pamzo” Omollo has says he is pleased with his team’s performance despite a two-all draw with Ulinzi Stars in a disciplined forcesderby at the weekend.
The two teams shared the spoils at the Elite pre-season Cup at Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) Kasarani Annex.
Their match was a replica of their 2020/2021 Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League match at Nyayo National Stadium on January 23 which ended in a similar score line.
Omollo, a legend who featured for Gor Mahia and Harambee Stars in his heydays, reiterated that he was content with the results of the highly charged match
“We may have come short of converting guilt-edged chances but generally, my boys gave their all and I cannot fault them for the result.
True element
“ Credit also goes to my goalkeeper for pulling off one save after another,” said Omollo.
Police’s Duke Abuya was in his true element as he gave his team the lead shooting past the unsuspecting James Saruni between the posts.
Later, former Tusker FC man Boniface Muchiri, a dead ball specialist, made matters square for Ulinzi with a long-range free kick.
Spurred on by a small section of fans including Police Band Officers, Police regained their lead through John “Softie” Ndirangu but Ulinzi had other ideas, Hillary Simiyu disentangling himself from his markers from a rather tight angle to hit the leveller.
Abuya, who has reportedly attracted interest from Congolese club Taunt Puissant (TP) Mazembe, Young Africans (Yanga) of Tanzania and Sudan’s El Merreikh, was unlucky not to have scored the third goal in the 57th minute when at the mercy of Ulinzi’s last man and the goalkeeper.
In what was a game of two halves, Police held sway in the early exchanges with Ndirangu who has had previous stints with AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia particularly a thorn in the flesh of Ulinzi in the early exchanges.
There was action galore in the dying minutes as both teams aimed to hang on to the point which they successfully did at regulation time.
The bottom-placed sides in the two pools will play their placement match this Friday before paving way for the semis on Saturday and later the finals on Sunday.
