NSL: Wounded Naivas to bolster attack head of next season

National Super League side Naivas FC head coach Collins Omondi says he is prioritizing bolstering his attack ahead of the 2024–25 season. 

This comes barely three days after his charges missed top-flight promotion in the hands of FKF-Premier League side Sofapaka by 2–0 goal on aggregate in a two-legged promotion play-off.

Naivas FC, who were promoted to the NSL at the end of the 2021 season, finished 3rd with 76 points from 38 matches, six points shy of runners-up Mathare United and eight points behind Champions Mara Sugar, who have both been  promoted to Premier League.
 
In the just concluded NSL 2023/24 campaign, they won 22 games, drawn 10 and losing 6, a record that the tactician has hailed, saying his boys were determined to earn promotion to the top-flight.

In the same season, the team put sixty-three goals behind opponents' nets, conceding twenty-nine finishing their campaign on a 34-goal difference.

However, Omondi is disappointed that his charges did not find the back of the net in the play-offs after creating numerous chances in both matches, a thing he says must be improved ahead of the new season.

"My boys played well but conceded a goal in the last minute, nonetheless, these mistakes happen in football, and we understand that.

“We created seven clear chances, but unfortunately, we didn't convert any compared to our opponents (Sofapaka), who created two and scored one." He noted.

According to the former Nairobi Stima coach, he could not understand why his charges could fail to score even a single goal despite having a good run in the just concluded season.

"I don't know  how we failed to score in the two play-off matches when we have been doing this freely in the League.

“So i will be addressing this before the new season begins because we need a forward line that can score goals in any situation," wondered.

He added that they will go all-out next season to ensure they get a direct ticket to the Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKF-PL) without having to go through the promotion play-offs, noting that this can only be achieved by strengthening the team and planning accordingly for the coming season

“We had our ups and downs but in the coming seasons, we will make sure that we are a force to reckon with next season, because we have now tasted this league.

“In the two seasons, we have had a bit of experience and next season the sky will be the limit,” he stated.

Collins 'Korea' Omondi was appointed by Naivas FC as head coach in the 2021 summer, to fill the void that was left by Elvin Ayani, who joined KCB FC to deputize Bernard Mwalala