- The game was halted in the second half due to crowd trouble
- Tusker led 2-0 at halftime
- Gor remain top of the standings after beating Talanta
Tusker FC continued with their resurgence as they edged out Nzoia Sugar 2-0 at the Sudi Stadium in Bungoma. Nzoia had to finish the match with 10 men after substitute keeper Daniel Omuse was sent off just four minutes after coming on in the second half.
Nzoia had to play the remainder of the second half, which was delayed due to crowd trouble, with an outfield player, defender Nassor Shikokoti, in goal.
As the last man on defense, Omuse came off his line and handled an effort from Eric Kapaito, with the referee dishing a straight red card.
The goalkeeper had just come on for his first appearance of the season after Nzoia coach Godfrey Oduor had decided to make a change with Bernard Onunga conceding what he saw as soft goals in the first half.
The red card elicited emotions from the crowd, which started throwing projectiles onto the pitch causing a stoppage of almost 25 minutes.
Tusker had gone ahead through goals from Mike Oduor and youngster Chris Erambo, who scored his first ever Premier League goal.
Erambo was delighted with his performance. “I am feeling really happy to have scored. I have worked really hard and I expected it to come sooner but unfortunately it didn’t. All the same, I am delighted and this now pushes me to work harder,” said the midfielder.
Tusker pumped by the win
Chris Erambo scores his first Premier League goal
He added; “As a team getting this win really means a lot to us because we have had a difficult start to the season. Now it pushes us somewhere good on the table especially as we approach the second leg.”
Oduor had given them the lead after 38 minutes with a brilliant low shot from the right after being teed up by Shaphan Siwa. The brewers had a better start to the game, pulling in an attacking start right from the first whistle.
Youthful midfielder Erambo then made it 2-0 in the third minute of added time with a powered header from a Levin Odhiambo corner.
Tusker had two goals disallowed, both by Eric Kapaito. The forward scored in the first half from an Oduor cross but was adjudged to have been in an offside position.
He scored another late in the second half when he connected to a Daniel Sakari cross from the right, but was adjudged to have fouled Shikokoti in goal before scoring.
Tusker FC in action against Nzoia Sugar
After the restart in the second half, the pace of the game radically died down, with not much of scoring chances in either half and Tusker couldn’t do much with their numerical advantage.
The victory sees Tusker climb to seventh in the standings with 22 points, wto behind sixth placed City Stars who won 1-0 against Ulinzi Stars. This was their fourth straight victory, a brilliant come from behind win away from home.
Boniface Muchiri had given Ulinzi the lead in the first half, his fourth goal in two matches. However, City Stars were resurgent in the second half and they levelled in the 62nd minuite through Vincent Otieno.
They kept their pressure and had the second goal 10 minutes through Dennis Oalo to give them maximum points.
AFC Leopards put woeful run behind
Hassan Beja celebrates his goal for AFC Leopards against FC Homeboyz.
Meanwhile, AFC Leopards put their woeful run behind with a 2-0 victory over Kakamega Homeboyz at the Nyayo National Stadium. Leopards had only won once in 14 matches, and the victory, courtesy of two first half goals was enough to put them on a positive run.
Clifton Miheso had broken the deadlock in the 32nd minute from the penalty spot after Robert Kweyu was axed inside the box. Five minutes later, Hassan beja added the second for Ingwe, tapping in at the backpost after a cross from Maxwell Otieno on the left.
The victory was a relief for new coach Tomas Trucha, who was under pressure having failed to turn the club’s fortunes since arriving.
“We deserved the win today by how we played. We have been working really well and improving but were unlucky in scoring. We worked hard in trying to finish our chances and now we have seen the fruits which is good,” said Trucha after the game.
Ingwe will next play Murang’a Seal away from home, and they will be out to battle for another win to put their campaign well on the balance and fully pull away from the relegation zone.
The victory by Ingwe was also welcome by their arch rivals Gor Mahia, who won by the same margin away to FC Talanta. The victory by Gor, coupled with defeat on Kakamega Homeboyz saw them open a four point gap on top of the standings.
Gor are on 31 points, while KCB moved to second with 27 after edging out Police FC 2-1. Homeboyz dropped to third, but are also on 27 points.
Second half goals from Boniface Omondi and Austin Odhiambo earned K’Ogalo their eighth win of the season, two games before the end of the first leg.
Omondi broke the deadlock with a brilliant strike from inside the box after the Talanta backline struggled to clear the ball in the area.
Odhiambo then doubled the lead, almost from the same distance, this time with a well taken low shot.
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