Posta Rangers retain KPL status

Posta Rangers' Francis Nambute (right) celebrates his goal with teammate Marcelius Ingotsi during their play-off match against Nairobi Stima on June 19, 2019 at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos County. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |

What you need to know:

  • It was a case of too close yet too far for Stima, coached by Evans Mafuta, as they will now have to content with a place in the National Super League for another season.

Posta Rangers on Wednesday battled to a 1-1 draw with Nairobi Stima at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos to retain their Kenyan Premier League status 3-2 on aggregate.

It was a case of too close yet too far for Stima, coached by Evans Mafuta, as they will now have to content with a place in the National Super League for another season.

The John Kamau- coached Rangers, who were carrying a 2-1 win from the first leg, scored a third minute goal through Francis Nambute following a cross from Peter Ng’anga’a to lead 1-0 at half time.

Stima equalised through National Super League (NSL) top scorer Dennis Oalo Ochieng, who connected with a fine cross from Brian Odhiambo in the 47th minute.

Rangers coach John Kamau hailed their opponents for their fighting spirit.

“Stima have a good team that gave us a stiff challenge. Our early goal helped as a lot. We need to inject in a few players to boost the squad ahead of next season,” he said.

His counterpart Evans Mafuta said: “We were unlucky. The boys fought hard especially in the second half, but our opponents were more superior. We intend to beef up our squad as we plan to make a serious comeback next season.”

The match was attended by Postal Corporation of Kenya chairperson, Nick Salat and Posta Rangers chairperson John Tonui among others.