After picking their first win last weekend, Mathare United will hope to continue at the same vein this afternoon when they tackle Kariobangi Sharks at Machakos’ Kenyatta Stadium in a duel that has been dubbed ‘the Slum Derby’.
Mathare pipped Ulinzi Stars 2-1, thanks to a late header by experienced goal-getter Clifford Alwanga—a result that left coach Salim Ali yearning for more.
“There is gradual improvement and it showed against Ulinzi that the work we do in training is registering in the minds of the players. We now need to continue with this momentum as the season is just starting and go step by step towards attaining our goals,” Ali remarked on the Mathare portal.
While Mathare can take comfort from the fact that there is a discernible improvement in their results and performance, the same can’t be said of Sharks. William Muluya’s charges are yet to win a match and were walloped 3-0 away to Kakamega Homeboyz—leaving them down in 16th place with two points.
They will, however, take comfort from their match-ups against the Slum Boys having won three of their six meetings to date with Mathare only once victorious. A win for Mathare will take them temporarily to the top of the standings.
Another top billing clash will pit former champions Tusker against Sofapaka. Both sides have posted mixed results so far with four points to show for their three outings. They both registered their first wins last time out and their early kick-off in Machakos will be an opportunity to stake a claim to the title contenders tag.
Ulinzi Stars, who surrendered their unbeaten start to the campaign last weekend, will be hoping to make amends against Sony Sugar.
The soldiers suffered a blow after it was revealed that goalkeeper James Saruni and midfielder Ibrahim Shambi are set to miss the clash against the Sugar millers from Awendo.
Coach Benjamin Nyangweso was boosted by the return from military training of defender Quintine Indeche, midfielder Clinton Omondi and striker Masita Masuta. The three fresh graduates from the Recruits Training School in Eldoret trained with the team this week and will be available for selection.
“The three have started training, we had our second session together and I have to say they are very good players. At such a time when we are losing players to injuries, I am sure their availability comes very handy,” said Nyangweso on the clubs official portal.
Other matches today will see new boys Kisumu All-Stars taking on Western Stima with AFC Leopards hosting bottom of the table Chemelil Sugar on Sunday.
