Posta soar despite lack of home ground

Eight Nairobi-based SportPesa Premier League teams namely Gor Mahia, AFC Leopards, Tusker FC, Sofapaka FC, Mathare United, Kariobangi Sharks, Nakumatt FC and Posta Rangers have had to host their matches outside the city due to lack of venues.

Most clubs had picked Nyayo National Stadium and Kasarani Stadium as their first and second choice home turfs, but due to the renovations in the two venues ahead of the 2017 IAAF World U-18 Championship and the 2018 Africa Nations Championships (Chan), they have been forced to seek alternatives.

Thika Sub-County Stadium, Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos and Afraha Stadium in Nakuru are the busiest of the pitches whenever SPL fixtures are on cards at times hosting more than three games in a single weekend.

This has turned to be an advantage to Posta Rangers, according to Head Coach Sammy ‘Pamzo’ Omollo whose charges top the 18-team log with 21 points, three ahead of record 15-time champions K’Ogalo after just nine rounds.

The former Kenyan international defender revels in the away-from-home run that has seen his side stay unbeaten. He says the condition has eased pressure in his camp since the boys stay focused on bagging maximum points.

“Posta playing away from home has been a blessing in disguise for us so far. We head into every game with a feeling that we are playing away hence the pressure to perform on the road. It has been an advantage to us because we have done so well in the nine matches,” he told Nation Sport.

“The moment I started my job at Posta, I advised my players to shrug off the pressure of having finished fourth last season and now that we are top of the standings, we are under no pressure whatsoever. We’ve left that pressure to teams that finished above us last season; the likes of Tusker, Gor Mahia and Ulinzi Stars and other giants in the KPL like AFC Leopards and Sofapaka,” he added.

“Our secret is approaching every match as it comes. I tell my players, we should fear no one as long as we prepare well before a game. If we transform exactly what we strategized in training on the pitch, there is no reason why we should not pick points. We don’t care about our unbeaten record, in fact, it’s a motivating factor to the boys because they go into the match knowing any goal against us might break the record,” concluded the former Gor Mahia and Tusker tactician.

'Pamzo' will lead his boys against Muhoroni Youth in Awasi in round 10 on Wednesday.

“We face Muhoroni away from home, a very tough hunting ground but if the game is fairly managed, we should hope for some positive result.”

The mailmen have only conceded two goals this season against Kakamega Homeboyz and AFC Leopards scoring eight, six of which have been 1-0 wins.