Osumba brace lifts Tusker past Bandari

Brian Osumba struck a second half brace as Tusker beat Bandari 2-0 in their Kenyan Premier League match at Mbaraki Sports Club on Saturday.

The win, which was the third in as many matches under head coach Robert Matano, saw the the brewers move into eighth on the standings.

It was Bandari’s first home defeat of the season, which left head coach Ken Odhiambo fuming. “We suffered as a result of a poor show by our players and the playing ground was too slippery,” said Odhiambo.

However, the Bandari tactician called upon the league managers to take stern action against players who commit dangerous tackles from behind with no actions taken against them during matches by the referees.

“It is high time we copied some English Premier League rules which punish players who commit such fouls and go unpunished by the officials during the match,” said Odhiambo who claimed his players have been victims of such fouls.

Tusker head coach Robert Matano had a lot of praise for his players. “The playing ground was bad making it difficult for us to play our usual game. But I’m happy we’ve won the match and return home with maximum points,” he said.

In an uneventful, goalless first half, Tusker struggled to create clear-cut chances. It was Bandari who had the best chances in the half, with Shaaban Kenga failing to capitalise on a mix-up in the visitors' defence seeing his close-range effort blocked by goalkeeper Duncan Ochieng.

Abdalla Hassan had Bandari’s best chance on 39 minutes, heading wide unmarked at the far post from a David King’atua cross, before Ochieng saved well a low shot from Bernard Odhiambo.

Tusker’s Jackson Macharia miss-hit a volley inside the box before Bandari defender Hassan Iddi superbly blocked Peter Nzuki's low effort at the near post.

It was in the second half that the visitors came back strongly, raiding their opponents territory from time to time. They took a deservedly lead in the 62nd minute when Osumba collected a cross from substitute Amos Asembeka to place the ball past goalkeeper Faruk Shikhalo.

Tusker continued to pile up the pressure and in the 88th minute, Osumba found the back of the net when he sent a powerful drive past Shikhalo after the goalkeeper failed to deal with Asembeka's cross.