Talanta held by Shabana in NSL

FC Talanta squandered the opportunity to extend their lead at the summit of the National Super League (NSL) standings as they were held in a 1-1 draw by Shabana FC at the Narok Stadium on Saturday.

The Mombasa derby pitting Modern Coast Rangers and Coast Stima ended in a barren draw while Migori Youth edged Nairobi Stima 2-1 on the road.

In Narok, Talanta took the lead when Anthony Gicho pounced on Maurice Dukuly’s sloppy pass to slot home the opener after just 19 minutes.

That was the major highlight of the first half that was characterized by missed opportunities for both sides as the visitors as Talanta led 1-0 into the breather.

Shabana returned  stronger and restored parity seven minutes after the restart through Brian Michira whose fierce shot from twelve yards ended in the back of the net.

Following the result, the glamour boys occupy the fourth slot level on points with fifth placed Kibera Black stars who have an inferior goal difference.

While acknowledging the tough ahead in their quest for a promotion berth, Shabana assistant manager Kevin Momanyi urged his charges to quickly learn from their mistake ahead of next weekend’s clash against APS Bomet.

“The boys gave their all given the circumstances but the referee was very unfair because he failed to call many instances when our players were fouled.

“Talanta are a top side and for us to stand a chance of defeating them we needed to minimize our mistakes and also learn to convert a majority of chances.

His opposite number Ken Kenyatta urged his charges to swiftly train their eyes on next week’s high octane clash against highflying Fortune Sacco.

“I expected to win today but I can make do with a point given the fact that we were playing away from home. It is part of the game and now we must learn to forget about it quickly.

“I expect a better performance against Fortune Sacco who are on a very good run at the moment.

Saturday Results

Shabana 1-1 FC Talanta

Coast Stima 0-0 Modern Coast Rangers

Nairobi Stima 1-2 Migori Youth

Murang’a Seal 1-0 Kisumu All Stars