Nairobi — Tusker FC head coach Robert Matano says his team is delighted to move back to the top of the FKF Premier League standings, but has warned his charges not to be excited as the job is far from done.
First half goals from Eric Otieno and Lawrence Luvanda handed the brewers three precious points in their game-in-hand, moving to 54 points, one ahead of record champions Gor Mahia.
“We are happy but not excited. We have worked hard to be where we are now and of course I am happy with the performance of the team so far. But we should not get carried away. The job is just getting started and we need to do more,” said the tactician.
Looking back at the performance against Wazito, Matano said he was happy with the three points but not the general performance of the team.
“In the second half we didn’t play well. We couldn’t control the tempo of the game and the players we brought in were not able to add the punch we require. But again, fatigue is catching up because we have played so many games within a short period of time,” Matano further noted.
Against Wazito, Matano went in with the same team that has seen him win five in a row, and they started the tie on high tempo.
They just needed 12 minutes to break the deadlock, Otieno scoring his third goal of the season with a thumping header from inside the box after Lawrence Luvanda’s delightful cross from the left.
Luvanda turned from provider to scorer in the 27th minute when he ran onto a Daniel Sakari pass before shooting low into the bottom right corner. Just before that, the winger had come close with a snap shot from the edge of the box which slid inches wide.
On the half hour mark, Otieno almost scored his second when he rose to glance home a cross from Shaphan Oyugi, but his header was blocked on the line by a defender’s foot.
Seeing his side struggle and the possibility of a whitewash by the home side, Wazito coach Charles Odero made changes, pulling out goalkeeper Ezekiel Owade for Tom Muthomi.
They managed to stabilize a bit, with the brewers also being thrown off balance with the injury to Rodgers Ouma, who was replaced by David Odoyo.
In the second half Tusker seemed to lose a bit of their grip on the game as they struggled to cope with Wazito’s power play.
However, the latter couldn’t pose too much danger and Tusker managed to hold on well.
They had chances late on, with a Wazito defender almost scoring an own goal as he attempted to clear a Stewart Omondi cross but he was rescued by the crossbar.
Keeper Muthomi also made a fine save, pushing Shami Kibwana’s shot from the edge of the box against the upright.