Bandari win but Nkata worried by margin

Bandari FC Head Coach Paul Nkata was discontent even as his side eked out a 1-0 win over Mathare United to move fourth in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) standings on Friday.

It was the the Dockers’ first away win of the season but the Ugandan tactician showed no content in the scoreline as he blamed his side’s bluntness in front of goal for making the tie look closely contested when they should have had a dominant result.

Anthony Wambani was Bandari’s hero at the Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos with his 33rd minute strike enough to seal the marginal win.

“We have been working hard to have a better record in away matches and we finally made it.  I congratulate the players but we have to do more of this,” Nkata told Citizen Digital.

His opposite number Salim Ali, standing in for the suspended Francis Kimanzi regretted the win saying focus shifts to their next assignment.

“We have lost despite fighting hard especially in the second half. We must quickly leave the loss behind us and start planning for our next fixture.”

Both teams employed a cautious approach in the opening stages of the match, with neither willing to commit bodies forward inside the first 15 minutes.

Mathare soon started pressing, but Bandari’s defense marshalled by Duncan Otewa, Felly Mulumba and Shariff Mohammed looked comfortable soaking in the pressure.

With just over 20 minutes gone, Abubakar Keya was connected by Chrispin Oduor in the box only to shoot narrowly off-target.

Moments later, Daniel Mwaura was the last on the sequence of well threaded passes in the box, but wasted a glorious chance shooting wide.

Wambani made it 1-0 in the 32nd after finishing sumptuously Jacob Kelli’s cross, the later having capitalised on Andrew Juma’s slip to the ground courtesy of the slippery turf following mid morning showers.

Three minutes later, budding Bandari striker Wilberforce Lugogo delayed to put the ball in an empty net after being connected by Kelli, giving goalkeeper Levis Opiyo who was  off the line time to recover and clear the ball.

With Mathare momentarily shaken by the goal, Bandari piled more pressure seeking the second but it was the slum boys who came close to equalizing just before the break, Cliff Nyakeya’s long range shot hitting the side netting.

On return for the second stanza , it turned out to be an end to end affair with both teams playing more open football.

Mwaura and Nyakeya each came close within the 10 minutes, Obungu denying them in both occasions with spectacular saves.

Ali then withdrew Keya for Tyson Otieno, before bringing on David Owino for Moses Mburu.

Nkata reacted by introducing Shaban Kenga in the place of 20-year old Tyrone Sisia, and a while later Michael Apudo for Lugogo.

Mathare managed to create more chances as the clock ticked faster towards full time, winning four unconverted free-kicks in the area.

Nkata finally substituted Mohammed Siraj for Dan Sserunkuma as he sought to push the opponents off Bandari’s half in the hope of cutting their offensive charge with four minutes on the clock.