NSL: Shabana, Mara Sugar continue fine run

Shabana picked their second win of the season after stunning visiting SS Assad 1-0 in a National Super League (NSL) matches at Gusii Stadium on Friday.

Under the guidance of experienced tactician Sammy Okoth, Shabana had to dig deep to win the fairly attended match.

Shabana scored the solitary goal in the 28th minute through Peter Ogechi. The win for the Kisii County based side came on the back of a 1-0 victory over Silibwet FC at their home turf last weekend.

"I am pleased with my boys, they played well throughout the 90 minutes. We are now fully focused on our next match against Mombasa Elite on Wednesday," said Okoth after the match.

His SS Assad counterpart Ali Hamisi protested over what he termed as poor officiating, accusing the centre referee of biasness.  

“Truth be told, officiating was very poor. This trend is really going to slow down our football growth significantly if it is not tamed. Let fairness prevail, let’s grow the sport on the cardinal principle of fairness,” said Hamisi. 

This was the first match Shabana hosted at Gusii Stadium since March 2020 when the facility was closed for renovation. 

Among the fans at the stands was Kisii County Governor Simba Arati, the county executive for sports Erick Ongeri and the county Football Kenya Federation (FKF) branch chairman Jezreel Mbegera.

Elsewhere at Mbaraki Sports Club, Mara Sugar for the second time walked home with three points, this time beating hosts Coastal Heroes 2-0.

In their first match of the season, Mara Sugar beat hosts Naivas FC 1-0 at Camp Toyoyo ground.

A goal in each half by Philemon Nyakwakwa and Mohamed Barasa on Friday gave Mara Sugar their second consecutive victory in the league. 

Coastal Heroes coach Mohamed Hussein Madaga conceded that his team was not in good form saying his players were wasteful.

“We deserved to win the match because we created many good chances that if the players had been cool, we would have won the match by a bigger margin,” said Madaga who however, expressed optimism they will do well against Mwatate United in Wundanyi next Wednesday.

His Mara Sugar counterpart Francis Xavier praised his players for playing according to instructions and containing pressure from Heroes forwards especially in the second half.

“The win was due to team spirit and determination by my players. We managed to contain our opponents and scored two goals to win the match. Despite the referee red-carding my player, he was very fair and I’ve no complain about how he handled the match,” said Xavier.

The game started on a slow pace with the home team trying to get an early goal. They could have taken the lead in the sixth minute when Lucky Eme sent a cracking shot which was brilliantly saved by Mara goalkeeper Eliud Emase.

It was in the 12th minute that Mara took the lead when Nyakwakwa received a through pass from Robert Obaga and sent a powerful shot past the helpless Heroes goalkeeper Said Dhadho.

In the second half, the home team piled up pressure pinning their opponents into their territory but it was the same story of missing scoring chances.

The visitors made sure of victory in the 60th minute when Barasa found the back of the net.