One year ago today, Nzoia Sugar FC were at their peak, swapping pole position in the FKF Premier League table standings with Tusker FC with every match-week.The then Salim Babu-coached side won almost at will, picking from where their western compatriots Kakamega Homeboyz had left the season before.Despite eventually losing out on the title chase on the final day of the 2022/23 season, Salim’s boys had proven themselves worthy of being in the conversation, and a mass exit followed. The sugar millers lost more than half their squad, including the coach.How coach Godfrey “Solo” Oduor was arrested amidst financial dispute with FKFCurrently sitting bottom of the log with only three wins, coach Godfrey ‘Solo’ Oduor’s boys couldn’t have had a worse start to the second leg- the very one meant for redemption. Shabana visited Sudi stadium and put five past the hapless hosts who could only respond twice.Towering center-back Salim Murunga, despite being on the scoresheet for Nzoia, admits they have never suffered a heavier defeat.“It was the worst, totally unbelievable. It’s a huge lesson to take and I am sure we can still bounce back in the next fixture,” Murunga says.The match was a Justine Omwando show as the Shabana marksman ran circles round Salim’s men at the rear for Nzoia, and rewarded himself with a hat-trick.The former Nyanza heavyweights, parading new faces in their technical bench in the way of Sammy Omollo and former Kakamega Homeboyz goalkeeper David Juma, had just announced their desire to stay up in the top flight having just returned after nearly two decades in the lower tiers.##NAJAVA_MECA_7805711##Salim, 22, concedes that the visitors deserved the victory and it is upon his own squad to make things right in their next outing. They face an on-form Kenya Police FC on the road.“We dust ourselves up from the loss and focus on the next. It’s a tough away match against Police so we have to be at our very best when we take them on,” adds the left-footed former Rainbow FC defender.Having witnessed a quick rise from the lower tiers himself, winning the 2022 Kakamega County League with Shitaho FC before aiding Rainbow FC to promotion into the second tier NSL, Salim says he is positioning himself for more minutes in the top flight with Nzoia.“It’s my first time playing in the premier league so I have to play more so as to boost my confidence. I want to get better and hopefully help the team concede less,” says the lad who in just 12 appearances has a goal to his name and four assists.As with Premier league football in the country, it’s too early to call either end of the table standings. Nzoia sit at the bottom but with a marginal difference from the teams above. With 16 matches still on Solo’s cards, a lot can happen in the coming months, as for Salim, he hopes for fair tidings.Kenya Police will host the sugar millers on the 21st in round 19 of the FKF Premier League.Kenyan defender Clyde Senaji extends contract with Malawian giants Nyasa Big Bullets
