Nyaudo rue soldiers lack of cutting edge as Gor breaks clear at the summit

Ulinzi Stars head coach Dunstan Nyaudo was left to rue his side’s lack of cutting edge following Saturday’s 2-0 Kenyan Premier League (KPL) defeat to Gor Mahia FC at Nakuru’s Afraha Stadium.

Nyaudo’s men gave a fair impression of themselves with a dogged display against the champions yet their wastefulness reflected in the result as they slumped to a third defeat in five matches.

Ulinzi were denied by the frame of the post and had another effort cleared off the lines after Francis Kahata and Jacques Tuyisenge had put Gor 2-0 up with goals in either half.

“We had a very good game; we created so many chances and the difference between my players and Gor players is they that they turn their chances into goal.

“My defenders somehow got worn out towards the end but this is due to the chances that we lost up front. Sometimes it demoralizes defenders so much when a team fails to convert chances,” Nyaudo said.

The defeat saw the 2010 winners drift 13 points behind leaders Gor despite having played three more matches  although the gap between them and second-placed Sofapaka FC is only four points.

Nyaudo’s counterpart Dylan Kerr admitted Gor’s performance was nowhere near their imposing best but praised his charges for their latest repertoire in what is building up to be an ‘invincible’ season.

The match marked Gor’s half-season and the champions have reached that stage with a clear lead and zero losses to their name, winning 13 of their opening 17 rounds.

Their sweeping nine-point advantage at the summit of the KPL could yet grow wider if they manage to win their three games in hand against AFC Leopards, Posta Rangers and Kakamega Homeboyz.

“Every game we play now teams are going to try and beat us. We scored early but to be fair we weren’t really in the game. We did our best, worked really hard and I like that.

“We made a couple of basic errors – schoolboy errors as we call them – which gave them a couple of chances. In some incident we played them onside but they hit the bar so we got away with it,” Kerr said.

The Englishman blamed their mid-week Cup fixture and the fact they had travelled on match-day morning for his side’s lack of enthusiasm but gave credit to the players for grinding out a positive result.

“Before the game I said to my players it’s going to be a battle and they were up for it…It’s been a tough week for us on the field as well off it.”