Kenya: Sofapaka Re-Asserts Supremacy With Victory Over Thika United

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Francis Wadegu

24 June 2011

Reclaiming the league crown which they lost last season to Ulinzi Stars might be a long shot for Sofapaka, but the 2009 champions are not a spent force yet, having come came from behind to claw Thika United 4-1 to move into the top half of the Kenya Premier League standing.

A massive 12 points separates Sofapaka from the league leaders Rangers hence their others rivals are in good position to strike should the leaders falter.”This results speaks volumes about the quality of this team. On several occasions this season, we have dropped points that I believe we should have bagged. But this is really what we deserved,” coach Francis Kimanzi said after his team registered impressive victory.

Thika started brightly, taking the lead in the 18th minute. However, they should count themselves lucky for escaping real spanking as Sofapaka’s forwards John Baraza and Bob Mugalia missed great chances created by a combination of schoolboy and incisive passing.

“Without doubt, our defenders let us down today. We started the game well and we should have done better in defending and set pieces but we didn’t and were rightly punished,” confessed Thika coach Juma Abdalla.

Indeed Thika were twice punished from corners on either side of the flag. First, an in-swinger from Mugalia saw Humphrey Mieno jump unchallenged to head the ball into the net after Moses Arita had given Thika the lead by rounding up Zachary Onyango and slotting the ball into an empty net for his eighth goal of the season.

Soon after, Baraza’s goal put Sofapaka in the lead going into halftime and a second half double from Mugalia completed the rout and moved Kimanzi’s side into seventh place.

Meanwhile, teams continued to warm-up for the Cecafa Club Championship that kicks off in Tanzania tomorrow. Sudanese giants El Merreikh were held to a 1-1 draw by Kenyan side Tusker here in Nairobi where they are camping en-route to Dar-es-Salaam while another Kenyan side Gor Mahia held Young Africans (Yanga) to a goal-less draw in Tanzania. Yanga are returning to the tournament after serving a three-year ban and will start as favourites to be crowned champions on home soil.

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