After marking his six-year absence from the Football Kenya Federation Premier League with a 4-1 loss, newly appointed Posta Rangers head coach Stanley Okumbi took a swipe at his defence for gifting Tusker an easy win.
Tusker handed the former Harambee Stars’ coach a rude welcome into the top flight after recovering from a sluggish start to register their ninth win of the season which saw them open a four-point gap at the top of the log.
Okumbi last plied his trade in the senior league in August 2015, where he tutored Mathare United only to throw in the towel after a 3-1 loss in the hands of Ushuru.
The soft-spoken tactician, who replaced Sammy ‘Pamzo’ Omollo at Rangers, criticised his rear for uncharacteristically letting Tusker score at will.
Fast-rising Tusker forward Henry Meja was the star of the match as his brace inspired the brewers to sink the mailmen, much to the chagrin of Okumbi, who said hell broke loose in the second half. Luke Namanda and Jackson Macharia netted the other Tusker goals while Ezekiel Okare scored the consolation for Rangers.
“We played well in the first half but Tusker ran the show in the final stanza. The confidence levels were high but we made mistakes which we were punished for. The important thing is that for the first time this season, our striker has scored and the blunders we made were noted. We hope to correct them before our next match,” said the national U20, Rising Stars’ coach.
While the result seemingly left Okumbi with bitter taste in the mouth, his Tusker counterpart Robert Matano briefly cautioned his charges against getting carried away with the win.
“We are happy with the three points. However, we are not thinking of winning the title yet. We have 22 matches to go and we have to take a match at a time. Unless we win at least 15 matches out of the remaining ones, we can not speak of fighting for the title,” said the veteran coach
Elsewhere, Erick Kapaito’s late goal is all what Kariobangi Sharks needed to beat Vihiga United 1-0 at the Mumias Sports Complex. The win saw Sharks scale to third with 21 points while the league returnees remained perched 15th with nine points.
