- Tusker FC suffered a painful 2-0 defeat in the hands of FC Talanta.
- FC Talanta scored their goals via Emmanuel Osoro in a game that saw Tusker miss a penalty in the first half.
- The outcome left Tusker FC stuck at position two in the league standings with 55 points, three less than leaders Kenya Police FC.
Tusker’s hopes of clinching the 24/25 Football Kenya Federation Premier League were dealt a massive blow when FC Talanta handed them a heart-wrenching defeat on Wednesday afternoon.
Tusker, who were seeking to collect the maximum points and put pressure on league leaders Kenya Police FC, were beaten 2-0 by a rejuvenated Talanta side.
FC Talanta scored their opening goal in the closely contested encounter that was played at the Dandora Stadium through in-form Emmanuel Osoro.
The goal came in the eighth minute when Osoro dispatched a lovely penalty past Tusker FC goalkeeper Brian Opondo.
ALSO READ: FC Talanta coach slams FKF over ‘unfair’ fixture congestion
After going behind, the Brewers threw everything at their opponents with the intention of finding a quick equalizer.
However, despite their hard work, they did not manage to create many goal scoring chances.
Their best opportunity to draw level came in the 22nd minute when Dennis Wanjala delivered a dangerous freekick into FC Talanta’s penalty box but Charles Momanyi failed to take full advantage of it.
Undeterred by Momanyi’s miss, the Charles Okere coached army continued to pile more pressure on the hosts.
The immense pressure nearly paid off shortly after the half hour mark when the referee awarded them a penalty after a FC Talanta player handled the ball inside the box.
Nevertheless, Deogratius Ojok did not utilize the golden opportunity as his spot kick was saved by the brilliant Talanta shot stopper Brandon Obiero.
As the game continued, Okere decided to make two changes, replacing Wanjala and Lawrence Luvanda with Erick Balecho and Ian Simiyu.
Although the two substitutions slightly improved Tuskers’ game, Talanta did not give them any space to penetrate, ensuring the first half ended 1-0.
Okere made two more changes in the second half as he tried to use every tactic to dismantle the solid Talanta defence.
He introduced Thomas Omolle in place of Dennis Oguta to try and win the midfield battle at the initial stages of the second half before bring in Jacob Onyango to replace Ojok with a few minutes remaining to the end of the regulation time.
Nonetheless, nothing meaningful came from those decisions. In fact, Tusker’s situation got worse in the added time when Osoro struck again to guarantee FC Talanta a well deserved win.
The defeat left Tusker stuck at the second position in the league standings with 55 points, three less than Kenya Police FC.
Meanwhile, FC Talanta, who have beaten bigwigs like AFC Leopards, KCB FC, and Gor Mahia FC in recent weeks, climbed to the 12th position in the log with 35 points.
In other matches that were played on Wednesday, Ulinzi Stars were held to a 1-1 draw by Posta Rangers in Langata, while Shabana and Kakamega Homeboyz hammered Bidco United and Kenya Police FC 2-1 respectively.
Shabana’s goal were scored by Austine Odongo and the electric Brian Michira while Clinton Asiago found the back of the net for the visitors.
FC Talanta vs Tusker FC and other Football Kenya Federation Premier League results for Wednesday
- FC Talanta 2-0 Tusker FC
- Ulinzi Stars 1-1 Posta Rangers
- Shabana FC 2-1 Bidco United
- Kakamega Homeboyz 2-1 Kenya Police FC
- Mara Sugar 0-0 Bandari FC
ALSO READ: Tusker FC squad, stats, fixtures, scores, highlights & latest results