St Anthony slay Tanzanian side Lindi to reward grieving coach Mayoyo

Stanley Mativo Musyi FM Sports Reporter/HostStanley Mativo in Arusha, Tanzania 

Perhaps it’s all what spot-on St. Anthony’s Kitale needed to do to console their grieving head coach Peter Mayoyo who lost his father early this week, following their flying start in the East Africa Schools Games which kicked off  Friday here in Arusha, Tanzania.

The Kenyans launched their East Africa football title assault in style after thrashing Lindi SS of Tanzania 4-0 in the only match played after the opening ceremony in a fully packed Sheikh Abeid Stadium and at the whistle emotional Mayoyo who is mourning the death of his father John Shikutwa who passed on Wednesday broke into tears while others just sunk to their knees.

Trying, and failing, to explain the mystery of English phonetics can be a daily task for Brits living in the US but when it comes to the Friday’s match story between St. Anthony’s Kitale and Lindi SS who enjoyed a massive support from the home ground fans, the how-to-say is not the only part that’s lost in translation.

The five-time national winners started the onslaught in the ninth minute after skipper Titus Kapchanga tapped in a well placed Duncan Odhiambo’s cross before he doubled the lead in the 20th minute.

Before the half time whistle, Odhiambo made it three in the 34th minute after a fantastic one-two with winger Daniel Musamali.

In the second half, classic Kapchanga grabbed a hat-trick in the 70th minute to make it 4-0 but Musamali had missed a spot-kick in the 63rd minute.

Speaking after the massive win, an emotional but calm Mayoyo dedicated the win to his fallen dad while shifting focus to the next match where the Kitale based team is penciled to face off with Buddo SS of Uganda on Sunday.

“First this win goes to my father, and I thank my players because before the match I told them to play for him. Now we must think about our second match which will be tough against the defending champions,” he told Citizen Digital in a post-match interview in Arusha.

The one-time East Africa champions will be buoyed by last year’s Copa Africa win against their next opponent after defeating them in the semi finals on their way to clinching the inaugural edition.

St.Anthony have set their eyes on this year’s title which has eluded Kenya since 2016 when Barding were last crowned champions downing 12-time champions St. Mary’s Kitende of Uganda to bag their maiden title when Kenya hosted the annual championship with Uganda playing second to none all other years except in 2002 when St. Anthony won the first edition title.

The championship will kick-off proper Saturday with all the preliminary matches of all the eight disciplines starting in earnest.

Schools from six countries including Kenya, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania will compete for titles in volleyball, handball, football, basketball, rugby, swimming, hockey, athletics, netball and racket games. Others are Rwanda and Zanzibar.

Tags:

Tanzania Arusha East Africa School Games Lindi SS Peter Mayoyo St Anthony Kitale

Want to send us a story? Submit on Wananchi Reporting on the Citizen Digital App or Send an email to wananchi@royalmedia.co.ke or Send an SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp on 0743570000

Leave a Comment

Comments

No comments yet.

latest stories