Menengai Oilers coach Gibson Weru hailed the side's composure and experience as they beat cross town rivals Nakuru RFC 25-18 in an entertaining Kenya Cup match on Saturday.
The Kenya Cup finalists trailed three times in the riveting encounter only for Weru's charges to win with bonus point to stay second on the log with 24 points, one behind KCB.
The former Kenya sevens playmaker said the lessons learnt from the win will fuel the title charge.
"What gave us the win was the composure. Derby matches need that and I believe our tactical tweaks and character carried us, especially in the second half,” said Weru.
The tactician said there is still need to improve, especially on how to start matches with intensity.
“It's a pattern I am seeing, right from our matches in December. We start slowly and teams capitalise on that. Credit to the boys, they never gave up and kept on fighting until the end,” noted Weru.
Nakuru, who lie eighth on the log with just one win, dominated the opening exchanges with Samuel Mwaura breaking the deadlock with a penalty before Fredrick Odongo touched down for an unconverted try to lead 8-0.
Oilers regrouped and Kenya Simbas winger Beldad Ogeta crashed over the line to narrow the gap to 8-5.
Simbas Flyhalf Geoffrey Ominde then touched down to give Oilers a 10-8 lead. However, Nakuru finished the half stronger as Emmanuel Mboya barged over the line to give the former champions a 13-10 lead at the interval.
On resumption, Dan Githanga extended Nakuru's lead to 18-10. Oilers' never-say-die attitude saw them trim the gap at 18-13 through Ominde's penalty.
Oilers stepped up a gear with the side dominating territory and possession in the final 20 minutes with John Okoth and Ogeta scoring a five-pointer each to seal the win.
In other results, Mean Machine earned their first win of the season by beating Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology(MMUST) 24-23 while Mwamba defeated Strathmore 27-20 in an entertaining duel.
A revamped Kenya Harlequins thrashed Catholic Monks 45-15 as KCB edged Blak Blad 31-3.
