City Stars thrash sorry 10-man Sofapaka

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 24 – Nairobi City Stars put up a sprint performance, thrashing 10-man Sofapaka 3-0 at the Ruaraka Complex on Monday evening to register their first BetKing Premier League win since the restart.

An early penalty from Peter ‘Pinchez’ and goals a piece from Salim ‘Shittu’ Abdallah and Davis Agesa gave City Stars maximum points in a dramatic Monday afternoon encounter.

Each side missed a penalty while Sofapaka’s Togolese keeper Aigba Moubarak was sent off at the stroke of halftime for an off the ball charge on Nicholas Kipkurui. City Stars midfielder Sven Yidah was also sent off 10 minutes to time for a second yellow card.

It was a second consecutive defeat for the 2009 champions who saw their charge for the title take a blow, having lost at home against Gor Mahia last week.

For City Stars, it was an important three points for their charge towards the top five. It was Opiyo’s return from injury that however inspired Sanjin Alagic’s men. Opiyo’s experience and calmness in the middle of the pack was missed.

The midfielder broke the deadlock in the third minute when Opiyo converted from the spot after a handball inside the box off a corner. Sofapaka had conceded the corner after keeper Moubarak had tipped over Sven Yidah’s header.

City Stars were off to a fiery start and they were 2-0 up after 16 minutes, partly thanks to a gift from the Togolese keeper. A good sweeping move saw Rodgers Okumu released through on the right before he slapped a low cross in.

Keeper Moubarak however parried the cross right into Agesa’s path, the striker simply volleying the ball into the net.

Seeing that his side was completely outplayed, coach Ken Odhiambo swung into a change, pulling out left back Nixon Omondi for Alex Imbusia. With the change, Titus Achesa went back to defense while Sofapaka added numbers in attack.

They had a golden chance to halve the deficit and get themselves back into the game when they were awarded a penalty in the 28^th minute, but skipper Lawrence Juma hit the pots.

They were punished 10 minutes later when Abdallah scored the third with a header at the back post after peeling off his markers to connect to a Bolton Omwenga freekick.

Sofapaka’s day was to go from bad to worse when keeper Moubarak was sent off for charging at Kipkurui when he picked the ball after being flagged for offside.

Defender Stephen Okola was sacrificed for substitute keeper Kevin Omondi.

City Stars sought to make the most of their numerical advantage and they were off to bullet speed in the second half as well. Seven minutes after the restart they were awarded a penalty after Rodgers Okumu was axed inside the box by Isaac Mitima.

However, Anthony Kimani stepped up and saw his penalty saved by Omondi and Agesa skying the rebound.

Five minutes later, the home side once again tried to bend in a fourth goal and this time it was Omwenga’s turn to try his luck but his ferocious long distance shot was saved by keeper Omondi.

Having dodged another bullet, Sofapaka sought to make amends and they began playing with more directness and purpose.

On the hour mark, Timothy Otieno’s shot from a freekick was saved by the keeper while Roy Okal sent the rebound against the upright.

Ken Odhiambo’s men played balls behind the defense in an attempt to get in at least one goal, but poor finishing cost them when it mattered most