Thika United Vs Chemelil Sugar F.C

Chemelil Stadium

Jimmie Kairu.

It was a gloomy day for Thika United Football Club as they lost 3 goals to nil in a highly contested match against Chemelil Sugar at Chemelil Stadium.

Two of the goals which were scored during the first half and one during the second half made the visitors side be more and more determined looking for a goal.

All the goals having been scored by John Mwangi, who recently played for the National Squad in the match against Tanzania, ensured that the united defense was in a critical position through his fruitless runs that bore fruit.

The first goal which came in during the 20th minute came after Nicholas Muyoti of Thika United fouled Patrick Okumu of Chemelil and the referee gave a free kick, which was taken by Madigomere Muruki who found Felix Oluoch and Felix passed it to John Mwangi whose shot banked it behind the net.

The second goal came through a controversial penalty where the referee claimed that Vincent Nyaberi of the visiting side had caught the ball, his decision did not auger very well with the players and the technical bench as well as some criticized his decisions, this led to Abdalla Abdalla of Thika United being booked during the 34th minute as John Mwangi took the penalty and banked it behind the net.

The third goal came in during the 92nd minute when Thika United Goal Keeper David Okello committed himself to stop John Mwangi from attacking, he deflected the ball back to James Maina who in turn passed it to Mwangi who scored the shot that went past through Stephen Ochieng who was manning the goal.

Though immense opportunities were lost, the host had a home advantage and they utilized it quit well, exerting pressure in the midfield and way of attack.

Thika united on the other hand played a rather intense game as they calculated each of their attacking strategies, which worked but did not bear any fruit as well.

This was evident when Joseph Wanjiru missed a once in a life time opportunity to score which would have yielded a great opportunity to get the equalizer.

This was after a determined play from Nicholas Muyoti and Edwin Kosgey and Kosgey passed the ball to Wanjiru who was left to beat the keeper but his shot went beyond the post.

Another great opportunity was when Abdalla Abdalla passed a clean ball to Wanjiru but his shot was punched out by the keeper.

It was through these intense opportunities that silenced the host’s fans and also boosted the morale of the united players enabling them to focus and dig deep for gold.

Coach Juma Abdalla of Thika United had to make critical changes during the second half as he replaced Jefferson Agatha for Paul Anunda in the 46th minute, his move made the hosts technical bench even more worried making their coach shout of how they have changed the play.

The substitute Paul Anunda was a serious headache to the defense and the mid field as well, with his zeal to acquire the ball and pressure Samuel Ochieng the hosts keeper was evident that he’s mission was a goal.

These attempts were critical as during the 48th minute when Anunda dribbled the ball past Andrew Aroka but his shot was caught by the keeper.

A repeat of the same during the 53rd minute when he ran and passed Walter Hoya, Ochieng committed himself and it deflected back to Anunda and hit it in and out but the referee claimed that there was no goal.

Further more Anunda was caught by the host’s defender when he tried to bank it in fully but still the referee gave a deaf ear to the cry.

Thika United captain of the day Denis Omino had his missed opportunities as well, for his terrific header which was inside the net after a free kick from Stephen Ochieng when Michael Katumo was fouled during the 91st minute was said to be an off side by Margaret Omondi.

Margaret Omondi also called for another off side when Omino was supplied by Katumo but her flag was up as Denis shot hit the bar.

Denis Omino’s shot in the 93rd minute hit the top bar and Edwin Kosgey was tackled by Walter Hoya inside the box but the referee insisted them to play on, demoralizing the players and that led to the advantage of the hosts scoring the third goal.

A series of substitutes were made as Peter Opiyo was replaced by Francis Njuguna in the 57th who played an impressive game supplying some balls to Anunda and others finding Omino, the other substitute was Nicholas Muyoti was replaced by Daniel Oduory in the 70th minute when Muyoti succumbed to an injury.

The hosts too brought in their substitutes one of them in the 74th minute was Wilson Anyona who replaced the Stubborn Felix Oluoch who was booked for time wasting when he was disrupting the game. In the 85th minute Evans Walekwa was replaced by James Maina who contributed towards the third goal.

Though Thika United played well they had a lot of ball possession during the second half but they had a hard time scoring. These events have propelled their morale towards the next match as they strive towards meeting Sher Keruturi F.C at there unbeaten home ground see you there.

…………………………………….ENDS……………………………