Mombasa Elite win Coast Derby as NSL resumes

Mombasa Elite edged Coastal Heroes 1-0 in a National Super League match at Serani grounds on Saturday. 

Musa Maraka scored the lone goal in the 71st minute to settle the evenly contested match. 

Both Mombasa Elite and Coastal Heroes coaches had similar views on the fitness of their players after staying out of action for more than three weeks after Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Caretaker Committee suspended top leagues in the country.

Mombasa Elite FC coach Mohamed "Mohaa" Ahmed and Coastal Heroes counterpart Mohamed Hussein Madaga said their players have lost match fitness due to the suspension of the league. 

"If players don't play for a while, they lose their normal touches. Playing matches helps players improve their quality and so with the resumption of the league, we’re working to restore their normal quality football display,” said Ahmed. 

Madaga said the players are not to be blamed for the result because they just resumed training three days to the match. “We were not aware that the league will resume on Saturday so we didn’t tell players to start early preparations. We accept defeat because we were not fully fit,” he said. 

The game was a balanced affair with Heroes dominating the first 45 minutes and Elite having their share in the second half when their striking force missed a number of scoring chances.

Ahmed said they will try their best to return home with maximum points when they play Dandora Love on Friday. “We want to win this match in Nairobi so as to increase our morale to do well in the league,” said the Mombasa Elite coach. 

Heroes will also be away from home on Friday against Shabana in Kisii. “We’re going to Kisii for a win for we need to be in a better position in the league table,” said Madaga.