Bizimana squandered a glorious opportunity, firing straight to James Saruni’s hands. The missed chance procured the forward sharp criticism from Sofapaka coach Kennedy Odhiambo who felt the striker should have gone for precision rather than power. “We would have won the game had Amissi scored the clear chance he had in the final minutes of the game. He went for power in a situation which required precision. He played well but his undoing was missing that chance,” he said. Similarly, Ulinzi boss Benjamin Nyangweso was left with bitter taste in his mouth for the two points dropped. “I feel our opponents were lucky to get the point – we dominated and had a host of clear cut chances. We played well and could have won if we had taken our chances,” he said. ⚪|FULL-TIMEIt’s a draw in Utalii#bkplligiyetu #BKPL pic.twitter.com/AMCTb14y50— Betking Kenya Premier League (@Officialfkfpl) June 25, 2021 The effects of starting without natural centre forwards was there for all to see as both teams struggled to convert their chances in the first half which Sofapaka recovered from a slow start to dominate. The was nothing to write home about the contest until the 12th minute when Amissi Bizimana failed to tap in Ambrose Sifuna’s pin point cross which had slipped through James Saruni’s hands.Sofapaka who were under pressure to contain the soldiers in the opening minutes launched a counterattack through Roy Okal who picked Sifuna on the right flank only for his cross to be missed Bizimana.The visitors responded three minutes later through Clinton Omondi who unsuccessfully tried to beat the alert Kevin Omondi from the near post. A minute later, Masuta Masita left his marker Sammy Imbuye for the dead on the right flank but skied his effort much the disappointment of the technical bench who were on their toes ready to celebrate the opener.Lawrence Juma nearly grabbed his twelfth goal of the season in the 34th minute after curling a superb freekick from the edge of the box after Harun Mwale had brought Titus Achesa down but the ball flew inches wide. The former Gor Mahia midfielder would duplicate the same four minutes later but Saruni gathered the ball with ease.Masuta watched his 40th minute effort richott off the woodwork after beating Imbuye but Stephen Okola reacted quickly to clear the rebound.Realizing that his forward line was struggling to breach the Sofapaka defence, Nyangweso threw in Oscar Wamalwa and Omar Boraafya for Ibrahim Shambi and Clinton Omondi before restart.Second half Sofapaka made their first change in the 54th minute with Alex Imbusia coming in for Nixon Omondi who was a caution away from receiving his marching orders.The fresh legs from the barracks saw Ulinzi dominate proceedings for the better part of the second half and would gain more possession following the introduction of Bernard Ongoma for John Kago in the 74th minute. Saruni came to the rescue of his team in the 84th minute after denying Bizimana who had the best chance of the game. The Burundian who had the exposed custodian to beat fired straight to his hands after Achesa had teed him up.
