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Coach Matano dejected as Tusker drop two points in title race

Shami Mwinyi tries to run past Talanta defenders
  • Tusker were held to a 1-1 draw by FC Talanta
  • Charles Momanyi scored an 85th minute equalizer
  • They are now six points behind leaders Gor Mahia

Tusker FC head coach Robert Matano says he was disappointed as the brewers dropped two points in their 1-1 draw with FC Talanta, a result that saw them move six points behind leaders Gor Mahia in the race for the FKF Premier League title.

Charles Momanyi scored an 85th minute winner for the brewers as they dropped points to Talanta for the second time this season. Alvin Ochieng had given Ken Kenyatta’s men the lead in the 26th minute.

But, the brewers will have themselves to blame due to their missed chances.

“We did not play well at all looking at how many chances we missed. This is a game we should have won but we had a few problems in our build up and combination play,” said coach Matano.

“But, the league is a marathon and we will continue fighting. We still have the ability to close down the gap with our opponents and we will keep working to ensure we achieve that,” added the tactician.

Talanta, a team under immense problems only had 15 players for the match with most of the team choosing to move away in the mid-season transfer window due to the financial status of the team.

Ochieng sends Talanta ahead in the first half 

Action between Tusker FC and FC Talanta

They went ahead in the 26th minute when Ochieng, who had been deployed in an offensive position scored with a thundering shot from inside the box after finding space on the right.

Before that, Tusker had totally dominated and had chances. They had a goal disallowed early on when Eric Mmata pounced on a rebound after the keeper punched Jackson Macharia’s shot but his goal was ruled out for offside.

Macharia also had another shot from distance go wide, while Mmata had another glorious chance when he ran behind the defense to pick up a Shami Mwinyi cross, but he could not hit the target from point blank.

After scoring, Talanta had their tempo raised and they had another chance, this time Mike Kibwage being forced to a goalline clearance.

In the second half Tusker made changes, Macharia, Mmata and Eric Otieno coming off for Eric Zakayo, Shaphan Oyugi and Deogratious Ojok. The attacking changes were meant to give Tusker a spur in the final third.

Make more changes 

The Talanta goalkeeper picks the ball ahead of Tusker’s Eric Mmata

They also made another change, Rodgers Ouma coming in for David Odoyo. The brewers were more solid and pressed Talanta for an equalizer. However, Ken Kenyatta’s men defended well and forced Tusker to play long balls, which were not effective.

They finally notched the equalizer with five minutes left when Momanyi scored his first goal for Tusker with a header from an Ouma corner.

With Talanta packing the edge of the box, Tusker resorted to setpieces to try and get a winner, taking advantage of corners and Daniel Sakari’s long throws. However, they could not complete the job and had to settle for a point.

They moved a spot up to third with a three point gap to the top from Gor, who have played a match more.

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