Wawerus screamer seals win as Ulinzi sip Tusker in Nakuru

Ulinzi Stars picked up only their second Kenyan Premier League (KPL) victory of the season with a 1-0 win over Tusker FC at a rain-soaked Afraha Stadium in Nakuru on Saturday.

Daniel Waweru’s second half screamer secured a hard-fought victory for the hosts who thus moved into fifth and within three points of leaders Gor Mahia FC who have no league action this weekend.

It denied Tusker the chance to go top and ended their four-match winning streak and the visitors will have themselves to blame for failing to capitalise on their solid first half performance.

Tusker showed more purpose in their approach to the game early on and had a chance to put themselves in the driving seat when Timothy Otieno’s run in behind set him up for a clear chance.

But goalkeeper Timothy Odhiambo judged right to come off his lines and thwart the attack, getting a hand on the ball and saving after Otieno attempted to round him.

Bonaventure Muchika and Boniface Andai then made successive misses for Ulinzi with Waweru playing creator on both occasions.

It ended all-square at the break and the hosts made a dream restart when Waweru found the top corner of the post with a long range net-buster that left goalkeeper Emery Muyekure with no chance.

A quick counter left Oscar Wamalwa with space to run into on the right wing but the forward chose an audacious attempt at goal when he should have crossed into the box for Enoch Ochieng.

Substitute David Majak narrowly missed Erick Ambunya’s cross into the box before Ochieng’s attempt from a tight angle was pushed away for a corner by Muyekure on the other end.

Wafula thought he had doubled Ulinzi’s advantage to put the game to bed with minutes left but his effort skimmed across and came agonisingly close to going in.

Elsewhere, at the Awendo Green Stadium, Sony Sugar escaped relegation after turning up to honour their fixture against Kisumu All- Stars, a fixture that ended in a 1-1 stalemate. Sony had given two walkovers  citing financial difficulty in operations and a no-show on Saturday would have seen them automatically relegated from the top-tier league.

SUMMARISED RESULTS

Sony Sugar 1-1 Kisumu All Stars
Ulinzi Stars 1-0 Tusker FC
KCB FC 2-1 Zoo Kericho
Chemelil Sugar 1-2 Kakamega Homeboyz
Nzoia United 1-1 Kariobangi Sharks