Tusker have suffered yet another blow in their quest for the Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) title after losing 2-1 to Mathare United at Dandora Stadium.The 12-time league winners had hoped to win the match and reclaim top spot from Kenya Police, but Mathare had other ideas, rallying from behind to spoil Tusker’s plan.Having ascended to the top last weekend, Tusker were largely expected sustain a run of positive results and enhance their chances of reclaiming the title they last won in the 2020-2021 season.##NAJAVA_MECA_8883783##However, the competitive nature of the top flight football came into play, as Mathare recovered from a sluggish start to register their ninth win of the season.Tusker took the lead in the 35th minute through Ugandan striker Deogratious Ojok, who poked the ball home from close range after Mathare goalkeeper Steven Njung’e punched the initial shot onto his path.Ojok had drilled the initial shot from the right side of the area, with Njung’e palming it into a dangerous zone, where the forward reacted quickest to boot the rebound into the net.On-form Talanta forward determined to heal career heartbreaks with individual awardTusker carried the slim advantage to the half time breather, although it is fair to note that Mathare were the dominant side for the better part of the stanza. Mathare boss John Kamau made early changes before the start of the second half, with Paul Kinyanjui and Musa Masika coming in for Meshack Ochieno and Sammy Imbuye.It took Masika two minutes on the pitch to justify his inclusion, as he connected a lovely cross from Brian Ouru to draw his side level.TACTICAL ANALYSIS: Metrics that make Kenya U20’s Aldrine Kibet an exceptional midfielderMasika was not done yet, as he netted the second and match winning goal in the 76th minute to earn Mathare all points. The midfielder stepped up to convert from the spot after Alex Onchwari brought Eli Asieche down in the area. The result leaves Tusker second on the log with 51 points, one behind log leaders Kenya Police and four more than Gor Mahia’s tally. Gor could cut the gap to a point if they manage to edge Mara Sugar later in the day at the same venue. Meanwhile, FC Talanta complicated their chances of surviving the drop after losing 4-0 to Ulinzi Stars at the Lang’ata Sports Complex. Boniface Muchiri, Meshack Karani, Joseph Ochieng and Amatton Samunya were all on target for the soldiers.
