- Mathare had lost all their three opening matches
- They drew 1-1 with Posta Rangers
- Coach Boniface Omondi believes it will boost their morale
Mathare United finally earned their first FKF Premier League point in their fourth time of asking after coming from a goal down to hold Posta Rangers to a 1-1 draw at the Kasarani Annex.
Chris Opondo’s brilliantly executed goal in the second half cancelled out Cavin Odongo’s first half opener for Posta as the Slum Boys got their stuttering season to a start.
Head coach Bonface Omondi was elated with the point, saying it gives them a lot of motivation moving forward, and believes it can turn their season around.
“We just needed a point in the game against Posta because they are a stronger team. We also know that coming off three losses in a row, the morale and confidence of the players is usually low and so we just decided to be realistic and try get at least a point,” the tactician said after the game.
He added; “We played very well and according to how we had tactically planned by using the spaces behind the defense. It worked in our favour and now we can move forward better.”
The tactician believes the single point from that game will help them crawl up the table, even as he remains confident they will not be fighting relegation again as they have done over the past four seasons.
Get off bottom as soon as possible
Kennedy Ochieng of Posta Rangers vies for the ball with Curtis Wekesa of Mathare United
“The plan is to ensure we get off the bottom as soon as possible. We have the disadvantage of starting the season late, but we can always recover. We just take a match at a time and try to get better results,” noted the tactician.
Against Posta, they were impressive from the start, despite not seeing much of the ball in the opening half. They played well behind the ball, limiting the attacking chances for the mailmen. They had some half chances, Augustine Kuto shooting wide from range twice while Curtis Wekesa also had an effort from distance fly wide.
But they were caught out six minutes to halftime, from a brilliant move by Posta, Cavin Odongo volleying the ball home. Brian Otieno’s cross from the right landed on Brian Marita at the backpost, the latter nodding the ball to the edge of the six yard box for Odongo to volley home.
Immediately after the goal, Posta almost doubled their advantage, this time Marita taking responsibilities on his own feet with a shot from 35yards out but Mathare keeper Brian Olang’o made a fine save.
Mathare better in the second half
Alphonce Ndonye of Mathare United passes the ball under pressure from Patrick Otieno of Posta Rangers
In the second half though, Mathare came back better and they dominated most phases of the ball. They levelled in the 65th minute, Opondo brilliantly curling the ball home after picking a pass from Daniel Otieno.
The goal seemed to have pumped some belief in Mathare as they were more pragmatic moving forward. With 10 minutes to go, they almost snatched a win, but Posta keeper Brandon Obiero pulled a brilliant save to deny Augustine Kuto’s freekick curled onto the corner of goal.
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