Bandari thump Omax ahead of Gor showdown

Bandari’s William Wadri (second right) in action against lower tier side Omax during their friendly match on January 22, 2020 at Mbaraki Sports Club. The dockers won 7-0. PHOTO | COURTESY |

What you need to know:

  • William Wadri put Bandari ahead before Wycliffe Ochomo, Siraj Mohamed and Harambee Stars midfielder Abdalla Hassan struck for the Kenyan Premier League team, the scoreline reading 4-0 at half time.

Bandari head coach Twahir Muhiddin watched his team crush National Division Two League side Omax 7-0 in a friendly match at Mbaraki Sports Club in Mombasa on Wednesday.

William Wadri put Bandari ahead before Wycliffe Ochomo, Siraj Mohamed and Harambee Stars midfielder Abdalla Hassan struck for the Kenyan Premier League team, the scoreline reading 4-0 at half time.

In the last 45 minutes of the match, two penalties by Bernard Odhiambo and Moses Mudavadi, and another by Benjamin Mosha saw the team finish the game 7-0 victors. The game started on a high note, with Bandari taking the lead just after 37 seconds when Wadri latched onto a through pass from Hassan, made a solo move before sending a ferocious shot into the far corner of the net, Omax goalkeeper Wycliffe Boi well-beaten.

The second goal came in the 13th minute when Ochomo found the back of the net with a calculated shot off a pass from Mohammed who also netted the third goal through a free-kick in the 16th minute. Hassan was on the mark in the 25th minute off a pass from Wadri.

In the second half, Bandari continued to dominate and managed to get three goals through a penalty by Odhiambo in the 75th minute, Mosha in the 80th minute and Mudavadi from another penalty in the 89th minute.

Coach Muhiddin, who took over after Bernard Mwalala left the club last week, said he would strengthen weak departments in this window.

"It is my wish we sign a striker to strengthen our striking force but I’m not sure if we’ll sign any player at this time," said Muhiddin.

Commenting on their match against Gor Mahia on Saturday, the Bandari tactician said he will field his best possible team and stick to his game plan.

“I’m confident we can win the game against Gor Mahia. It is important for us to win against Gor so that we gain confidence to winning our other matches,” he said.

Omax coach Ismail Bokassa said he was impressed with the performance of his players despite losing heavily to Bandari.

“Our opponents are an experienced side with their players employed to play football as our players train few hours a day,” said Bokassa.