Ingwe compound ‘Slum Boys’ woes at Ruaraka as Gor revenge against Vihiga Utd in Mumias
Premier League rivals Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards both won their respective midweek matches yesterday by identical 1-0 margins as the fight for the coveted title heats up.
Leopards goal against bottom-placed Mathare United was scored by Elvis Rupia who ended his three matches goal drought, while Gor Mahia’s goal against another relegation threatened side, Vihiga United was netted by Clifton Miheso with all goals being scored in the first half of play.
AFC Leopards are now joint top of the league standings with 36 points after a laboured victory against the ‘Slum Boys’ at Ruaraka Stadium.
Rupia’s priceless goal for Ingwe came in the eighth minute of the match and it is now his 12th goal of the campaign as he chases the golden boot.
The match was full of drama with two red cards flashed on each side who ended up finishing the match with 10-players apiece.
Mathare’s skipper David Ochieng and Collins Shichenje of Leopards received their marching orders in the second half with the former earning a straight red-card after a dangerous tackle on Rupia.
There was also a moment of scare when in the 75th minute, Mathare’s defender Martin Ongori and Leopards’ Washington Munene clashed mid-air, forcing the medics to rush to the scene to access their conditions as Ongori had to be rushed to hospital while Munene was replaced by Yusuf Mainge.
Leopards were on the back-foot in the second half with the slum-boys pressing but the defense of Ingwe led by Robinson Kamura held firm for the maximum points.
There was a flurry of challenges and bookings in what was a physical contest.
Tyson Ochieng and John Mwangi had their chances for Mathare but Ingwe were always alert in shutting them down mostly through an impressive Clydse Senaji.
Meanwhile at the Mumias Complex, it was sweet revenge for Gor Mahia as they earned their third straight win to take them to 28 points from 16 matches. They are now fourth on the log and with a match in hand.
Clifton Miheso’s 20 yard strike in the 40th minute was the difference as the defending champions revenged their 1-0 loss to the same opponents in February.
Gor Mahia had a lot of the ball and were always troubling the opponents particularly through the creative play of Abdul- Karim Nikiema and Kenneth Muguna with the on-form Okello kept quiet even though he had moments of brilliance.
Miheso was also active in the second half alongside late substitutes Sydney Ochieng and Samwel Onyango.
K’Ogalo also looked compact at the back led by Captain Harun Shakava with the only blip being an injury by Andrew Juma in the 69th minute who was subsequently replaced by regular Charles Momanyi.Coach Carlos Manuel Vaz Pointo for the third straight game deployed a new approach of three centre backs and two roving wing-backs with Vihiga United struggling to break.
