Nairobi City Stars missed the chance to go second on the log again, losing to Sofapaka 2-0 at Ruaraka Grounds and allowing Batoto Ba Mungu to complete a season double over Simba Wa Nairobi.Prior to the match, Sofapaka FC coach David Ouma had exuded confidence in his side, saying that they have just been unlucky in their most recent matches, noting that he was hopeful they would break that duck at Ruaraka against City Stars.David Ouma, the winning coach lauded his side for a good display in the second half despite coming second in the first half, noting that they will continue to build the team by instilling more confidence to the team.”We gave away easy balls in the first half but I am happy with the turnaround in the second in terms of taking charge of the game and we did well in their box to earn the penalty and score the first goal. I want to commend the team. We have to continue building the team and we have to have confidence in the game,” Ouma said.It ends in defeat in Ruaraka Grounds#CityStars #KPL #NCSSOF pic.twitter.com/FGgHaNe9Ap— Official Nairobi City Stars Fc (@NrbCityStars) April 23, 2022 His counterpart Nicholas Muyoti expressed his disappointment at the loss, saying they lost due to their own mistakes, shifting his focus to the next match.”I am very disappointed. It was not our match. We tried our best but our own mistakes came to punish us. We should have avoided the penalty, and the red card also affected us. We created our chances but we did not take them so we will now have to focus on the next one,” Muyoti said.Sofapaka had only won one match in 2022, the 2-1 win over Wazito in February, and had won only six of the 26 matches that they had played.Timothy Babu Ouma and Oliver Maloba combined well in the first half, both on them getting back to the starting team, but they could not find the all-important strike to break the deadlock in that period.Batoto Ba Mungu took the lead through Lawrence Juma from the spot, with the reigning midfielder of the year five minutes into the second half after Titus Achesa was brought down in the box.Paka amgwara SimbaFT Nrb City Stars 0-2 SofapakaWe complete a double over Nrb City Stars@betikaKe@OyandoRonny#BatotoBaMungu pic.twitter.com/yXtAdhY5TM— Sofapaka FC (@FC_Sofapaka) April 23, 2022 City Stars were dealt a big blow in the 55th minute when Anthony Mukki Kimani was sent for an early shower, being forced to play with a man less for the final 35 minutes.Achesa was electrifying for Sofapaka, being at the right spot to finish off Alex Imbusia’s cross for Sofapaka’s second goal of the match.Nicholas Muyoti made a triple change 66 minutes in, bringing in Davis Agesa, Nicholas Kipkirui, and Rodgers Okumu for Calvin Masawa, Ezekiel Odera, Timothy Ouma in an attempt to get back to the game.
