It is never easy to adapt to new environments especially when the change comes abruptly. George Odiwour however, has taken to the second-tier National Super League (NSL) like fish to water and one can barely see that it is a relatively new frontier for him.Odiwour left Kakamega Homeboyz, unceremoniously some may say, after a splendid seven-year spell in the top flight- the third longest at the club, and with a domestic cup title to his name (Mozzart Bet Cup) and a few international club appearances.A centre-back his entire stay there, he now finds himself marshalling the midfield for Luanda Villa FC, a club with heritage but still biding their time in the second tier. He has, by virtue of his wealth of experience, taken a leadership role at Villa.Kibera Black Stars coach sets NSL first leg target”Of course, the league has changed a lot since I last played in the NSL with Vihiga United. The quality of competition has risen and no one team goes into a game imagining that they would lose. So that makes every single game tough. Many years ago there were only a select few teams that dominated the league but right now, the table standings at the top and bottom change every week,” says Odiwour whose side took a 2-1 fall on Saturday at the hands of former league leaders Naivas FC.Villa, now sitting seventh in the 20-team log on 22 points had in the first leg maintained a steady top-four position and the slack in recent outings irks Odiwour who, from his deep-lying position, boasts of five assists and a goal for the season.##NAJAVA_MECA_8641724##”Most of the players are young and learning, so the senior players have to guide them. It’s a big stage for most of them and the coaches work around the clock to install sufficient confidence within the unit,” he continues.Having joined the team alongside his former teammate at Homeboyz Geoffrey Oputi who now occupies the goalkeeping coaching position and is the overall assistant coach, the duo, so used to playing at the top, believe Villa too can work its way up.”I played with Oputi at Vihiga United and while there we earned a promotion to the top flight, it’s something we are familiar with so looking at our current unit at Villa, it’s very possible to make it to the Kenyan Premier League. Homeboyz midfielder sets sights on CHAN after making Harambee Stars debutIt will be rewarding for the management who have really stood by the team every single match day,” he adds.The ambidextrous anchorman has also reiterated the need for his forwards to get the goals if they are going to pick any points. Villa’s leading scorer, Timothy Ndayala, makes the top ten leading scorers in the division with seven goals while Fidel Omondi- with four goals, does not even make the top 20 cut.”Matches are won through goals. If we manage to get one or two and keep the opposition at bay, those become easy pickings,” he concludes.##NAJAVA_MECA_8641751##Next up for Villa is a Nzoia Sugar FC side that in spite of the numerous financial challenges faced this season, travel to Mumboha Grounds tails up from dispatching Mombasa Stars 4-1 in round 16.
