Homeboyz dance to Mathare's Odi tune in five-goal thriller

Mathare United returned to the summit of the SportPesa Premier League with a 3-2 win over Kakamega Homeboyz at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on Saturday.

Allan Wanga handed the visitors a ninth-minute lead with a tap-in from close range before Chrispin Oduor restored parity from close range on 20 minutes.

Seven minutes later, the Slum Boys took the lead through Oduor who found the roof of the net after Homeboyz goalkeeper Gabriel Andika parried the ball into his path.

Cliff Nyakeya settled the tie as a contest with a superb goal at the hour mark after Oduor played him through on goal with a clever pass. The youngster beat Moses Chikati for pace before stepping into the box where he kept his cool to slot past Andika.

There was a late twist when Luke Namanda reduced the deficit with a cleanly taken goal deep in stoppage time but the hosts held on for victory.

Mathare United coach Francis Kimanzi praised his charges for holding on to the win despite the late surge from the visitors.

"It was a good game though we took too long to kill the game given that we had more than four clear chances early on. Today it was a bit different, we had to come from a goal down and I'm impressed that my players showed a good behaviour under different circumstances. It shows we can build something unique around this team. We are back on top but the league is a long journey, we continue taking a game at a time," said Kimanzi.

The hosts began brightly and should have gone 2-0 up in the opening five minutes but Andika did well to deny Nyakeya and Chris Ochieng' from close range after brilliant work from Kinyanjui on the right.

With the game still level, Wanga broke the deadlock against the run of play after connecting to Peter Thiongo's cutback with a composed tap-in.

A pressing regime from Kimanzi's charges forced Festus Omukoto to an error after Andika initiated play through the diminutive midfielder. Ochieng', who had dispossessed Omukoto, hurriedly took his shot in a bid to catch Andika off his line but missed the target.

Then the moment Mathare United fans craved finally arrived. David Owino, on his trademark overlaps down the left, whipped a cross into the box that went past the target. However, Kinyanjui arrived late in the box to collect the ball and skip past a sliding tackle from Festus Okiring.

With only Andika to beat, Kinyanjui showed true altruism to square the ball for Oduor who calmly slotted home.

Moments later, Ochieng missed the best chance of the game. Oduor teed up Nyakeya for a shot at the edge of the box and the youngster stung Andika's palms with a rasping drive. The rebound fell kindly for Ochieng' whose initial effort was parried into his path. He could not find the net with his follow up attempt as Andika showed great reaction to deny him.

Parity did not last long as Oduor completed his double on 27 minutes. Kinyanjui, a constant menace on the right, forced a fine save from Andika with a well struck shot but Oduor was well positioned to pounce on the rebound first time with an assured finish to the roof of the net.

If that goal had soured Paul Nkata's mood heading to the sheds, what transpired shortly after the restart must have irked him more.

Four minutes into the second half, Kinyanjui scurried down the inside right channel before laying the ball on the plate for Nyakeya whose finish rolled narrowly wide with Andika well beaten.

On the other side, Thiongo missed with the goal gaping after Allan Owiny failed to hold onto Ali Bai's low shot.

Andika was called to action by Nyakeya after the winger had been set through on goal by Kevin Kimani with a cleverly lobbed pass over the top. But he made no mistake from a similar chance to cushion his side's lead.

Homeboyz survived another scare after Oduor was denied a hat-trick by the bar. James Situma found Kimani with a cross at the back post but the winger's effort was smartly saved by Andika. Kimani reacted first to the rebound and squared the ball for Oduor whose effort crashed off the bar.

Namanda scored a beauty for Homeboyz in stoppage time, when he took a long ball on his chest before firing through Owiny's legs in a one on one situation.

Nyakeya could have grabbed a brace with the last kick of the match but he skied his effort with Andika lying on the ground.