Sofapaka put to an end their month-long winless run in the FKF Premier League after edging out on-form Mathare United 1-0 in a close game at the sunny Kasarani Annex grounds on Wednesday afternoon.Halftime substitute Alex Imbusia was the star man for the side that last won in February 4 as he drove home a lovely 53rd minute ball from just outside the box to give Sofapaka the long-awaited victory.##NAJAVA_MECA_7079898##The win – a fifth for Sofapaka – pushes them up into 12th on the log on 21 points while Mathare with their 11th loss out of 17 games remain 15th, just a win above Nairobi City Stars in 16th place.”This is just the start of things to come,” Sofapaka coach David Ouma said post game. “Its a good start to the second leg and kudos to the boys for defending well and giving us the win. That’s what we want to do.”A crushed Mathare United coach Samuel Koko on the other hand was disappointed in the loss, but promised to work and rebound quickly.”It stings,” Koko said. “This is a motivated side and I expect them to easily come back from the result. Its just football.”Game Recap.A clearly confident Mathare United came out strong from the get-go and almost scored in the first 14 minutes after Douglas Kibet found space at the back-post, blasting his right foot shot over the bar.The former South B All Stars striker then had another shot from range go over as Curtis Wekesa hit a low cross from Fidel Otieno wide after the half-hour mark.Steve Kimari then dribbled past a couple of players and cut in from the left side, hitting a low shot into Masaka’s arms.Matasi confirms Tusker FC departureThe only chance for Sofapaka came deep into the first half after Roddy Manga’s header looped over the bar from a Nixon Omondi freekick – just after David Nshirimana had cleared a Kibet header off the line after 36 minutes.Second half Mathare’s tempo in the start of the second half was much unlike the first half and after a few minutes of Sofapaka possession inside the Mathare half, Batoto Ba Mungu took the lead after 53 minutes thanks to an Alex Imbusia ferocious left foot shot just outside the 18-yard box that flew past Olang’o and into the top right corner.The halftime substitute who had just come on for Baron Oketch led the muted celebrations as he ran his way to the nearby tent and past a stunned Mathare crowd.Mathare coach Samuel Koko was forced to make quick changes and did a double swap, bringing in Daniel Otieno and Derrick Ikholi for Augustine Kuta and Douglas Kibet in the 62nd minute.Koko, with his side finding it hard to carve out any clear chances, threw in Elijah Mwanzia in for the last 10 minutes of the game for Chris Opondo.Mwanzia almost got a chance to go minutes after but his shot was save was straight into Masaka. As the clock ticked, a nervous Mathare United fan base came to the realisation that their team’s purple patch was coming to an end, and it did as they stumbled to the 1-0 defeat.LINEUPSSofapaka FCStarting XI: Simon Masaka, Brian Wepo, David Nshirimana, Nixon Omondi, Roy Okal, Sunday Ikekhai, Simon Abuko, Rodgers Okumu, Stephen Okola, Roddy Manga, Baron Oketch.Subs: Kevin Omondi, Alex Imbusia, Elvis Otieno, Ben Stanley, Jacob Onyango, Elvis Makari, David Otieno.Mathare UnitedStarting XI: Brian Olang’o, Fidel Otieno, Levin Odhiambo, Gideon Werre, David Ochieng, Augustine Kuta, Khalid Jumaan, Curtis Wekesa, Chris Opondo, Steve Kimari, Douglas Kibet.Subs: Bernard Jairo, Derrick Ikholi, Samson Otieno, William Owade, Daniel Otieno, Victor Kioko, Musa Said, Elijah Mwanzia.
