Nairobi City Stars’ troubles continued for yet another weekend after they suffered a 2-0 defeat in the hands of Sofapaka in a Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) match at Dandora Stadium on Friday 14 March.Kicking off the weekend’s action rooted at the foot of the table, Salim Babu’s side were no match for their opponents as they conceded easy goals, failed to convert their decent chances, before finally harming their faint comeback hopes with a red card to goalkeeper Elvis Ochoro.After a calm start under the hot afternoon sun, Sofapaka took the lead after 14 minutes through Jack Ong’anya, who fed off a neat layoff from Lloyd Khavuchi to hit his shot into the roof the net.City Stars, attempting to claw back in this key fixture, however spurned their big chances upfront, as seen with striker Kelvin Etemesi, who when put clear on goal, hit his low shot straight at a sprawling Edward Olak.##NAJAVA_MECA_8780747##The Sofapaka keeper, in his debut, was on top of his game as he produced a reflex save to deny Etemesi once more in the closing minutes of the half.And while there was an expectation that City Stars would make amends – especially on the offensive end – in the second period, Olak took all that perceived shine off Simba wa Nairobi, producing decent stops from Etemesi, before Benjamin Murimi fired wide just three minutes to the hour-mark.A ramped up press from Sofapaka was in hindsight all the more important as City Stars keeper, who was forced into the referee’s book in the 66th minute, handled a threaded pass to Simiyu outside the box, leading to his dismissal just three minutes later.78’Sofapaka FC 1-0 Nairobi City Stars FC (Jack Ong’anya)Simba wa Nairobi down to ten after the dismissal of keeper Elvis Ocharo.#FootballKE— Ole Teya (@TeyaKevin) March 14, 2025 Edwin Mukolwe, coming on as Ochoro’s replacement, was delighted to see Matthews Malisau’s ensuing freekick hit the wall, but the numerical advantage always meant that his side’s backs were always against the wall.That proved to be the case as Sofapaka pushed for a second in the wake of another Olak stop from Etemesi with a minute of regular time to go.The young left-footed centre back determined to shine at Harambee StarsThe final dagger would come in the last minute of stoppage time, when a simple corner routine ended up with the enterprising Baron Ochieng lifting a cross for Bramwel Simiyu to head in to an empty net after Mukolwe had come out of his area and missed the ball.Sofapaka’s win takes them sixth of the log, as City Stars stay rooted at the bottom, just as they were.
