Brian Marita’s lone goal in the second half was enough to seal victory for Posta Rangers and hand head coach Salim Ali his maiden win at the club against FC Talanta in a Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) staged at the Kasarani Annex on Sunday.Talanta head coach Ken Kenyatta was disappointed with the loss after having extensive preparations and chose to channel his energy on winning the next game against Vihiga Bullets.”Today’s game we had prepared well, it was a bad day for us, we have to forget about it and plan on the next match so that we can get the positives from it, the game against Posta is now history,” said Kenyatta.His counterpart Salim Ali credited Talanta for their display in the match and emphasized on the importance of keeping a clean sheet in the game after being porus in the last set of matches.”Tough match, Talanta are a very good team, you have to be fit to beat them because of their style of play, for us to be 0-0 at half time was a positive because for my team the key thing was not to concede,” said Ali.The Mailmen came into the clash having suffered back to back defeats against Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards leaving them without a point since Stanley Okumbi departed to advance his coaching badges.FC Talanta who have been impressive but inconsistent in their maiden top flight season and claimed victory in their last encounter by beating Bidco United 1-0.The game was off to a feisty start with Talanta on the ascendency but they failed to make use of their early dominance with Denis Oalo guilty of spurning a few chances as the game’s energy fizzled off.Posta grew into the game and put Talanta on the back foot, midway through the first half with Sammy Meja hitting a sumptuous freekick that drew a smart save from Isaiah Wakasala as Talanta later cleared their lines at the stroke of the half hour mark.Dinken Mwema who was surging forward on the right flank should have done better with a cut back he was fed by Victor Ndinya as he lacked composure and blazed his effort high 10 minutes from the half time whistle as both teams went into the break locked in a barren draw.🚨RESULTS🚨@FcHomeboyz maintained their 5 point lead at the top of the #FKFPL table as title challengers @OfficialGMFC dropped points in Mombasa. Homeboyz 3-1 BidcoBandari 1-1 Gor MahiaAFC Leopards 0-0 V. BulletsTalanta 0-1 Posta Rangers📸: @FcHomeboyz #FFP pic.twitter.com/Bv4GMCG4Ec— Friends of Football (@friendsofutball) February 27, 2022 Unimpressed with how his team finished the half Ken Kenyatta called Michael Thiro from the bench who replaced Dennis Oalo after a muted performance in the first half.The change did not yield the necessary result as Posta continued from where they left from in the first half and took the lead in the 63rd minute when Brian Marita nodded in a cross by Patrick Otieno who had just come on for Dwang Jackson.Despite Talanta’s best efforts to grab an equalizer, Posta stood tall to claim their first win after two consecutive defeats.Talanta XI: Isaiah Wakasala, Kelvin Ochieng, Thomas Wainaina, Nicodemus Malika, Shela Mandela, Levis Masika, Francis Kahiro, Michael Omondi, Edwin Jumba, Hassan Muhammad (Rodgers Angal 75′), Denis Oalo (Michael Thiro 46′).Unused Subs: Kelvin Otieno, Peter Mungai, Eugene Wanjala, Castro Ogendo, Kevintom Machika.Posta XI: Kevin Opiyo, Dinken Mwema, Sammy Meja, Suleiman Ngotho, Benard Ondiek, Victor Ndinya (Cavin Odongo 60′), Vincent Wasambo, Brian Otieno (Chrispinus Onyango 88′), Dwang Jackson (Patrick Otieno 60′), Brian Marita.Unused Subs: John Njau, David Ochieng, Sammy Imbuye, Michael Apudo, Sammy Odero, Victor Majid.
