Bandari drown Tusker to move second

Bandari dislodged Sofapaka from second position in the SportPesa Premier League standings following a 3-1 victory over visiting Tusker in their match at Mbaraki Sports Club in Mombasa on Thursday.

It was Tusker who took the lead through Eugene Asike, but goals from veteran Shaaban Kenga, Yema Mwama and substitute Benjamin Mosha enabled the home team to claim the three points ad take their tally 58 points, eight points behind leaders Gor Mahia.

Bandari head coach Bernard Mwalala said the victory enhances their hopes of finishing the league in the runners-up position.

“I’m happy that the players who replaced the injured ones have been performing extremely well and I hope we’ll achieve our target of finishing in second place,” he said.

Tusker coach Robert Matano said it was a bad day for his goalkeeper Emery Mvuyekure, who was to blame for conceding two easy goals.

“Lack of concentration between my defenders and goalkeeper was the cause of our defeat,” he said.

“We were leading and continued to attack, but we gave Bandari opportunities to score the three goals,” he added.

The game started at a fast pace with Bandari getting their first corner after just 30 seconds, but Tusker goalkeeper Emery Mvuyekure was alert to keep out the danger.

In the second minute, Bandari's William Wardi saw his powerful free-kick saved by Mvuyekure.

Tusker got their first chance in the fourth minute when defender Hillary Wandera sent a fine cross to the centre, but Jackson Macharia shot wide.

It was in the 23rd minute that Tusker took the lead when a throw in by Rogers Aloro was connected by Timothy Otieno, who headed down for Asike to blast the ball past Bandari international goalkeeper Farouk Shikhalo.

The hosts fought back gallantly and were rewarded in the 34th minute when William Wadri crossed the ball inside the box for Kenga to send a first-time shot into the far corner of the net.

It took only two minutes after the restart for Bandari to secure their second goal when a Tusker defender gave his goalkeeper a back pass and Mwama, who was nearby, intercepted and easily placed the ball home.

Tusker raided their opponents' goal for the remaining period until a minute of the injured time when another Mvuyekure blunder resulted in substitute Mosha scoring his team’s third goal.

Bandari play Zoo Kericho at the same venue on Sunday, before travelling to Nairobi to play Mathare United and then proceed to Western Kenya for their penultimate fixture against Nzoia Sugar.

They will then return home for their last match against Sofapaka at Mbaraki Sports Club.