Red hot Eliud Lokuwam rescued a point for Posta Rangers late on to maintain their unbeaten start to the SportPesa League 25/26 in a 2-2 draw against AFC Leopards at the Dandora Stadium on Friday evening.
The Sammy “Pamzo ” Omollo coached side have climbed back to the top of the table with 7 points from their opening three matches.
The draw also extends Posta Rangers’ impressive run against Leopards, making it three matches unbeaten against them, including a double over the club last season.
For AFC Leopards, the winless streak stretches to two matches following a draw against Sofapaka in their Sportpesa League opener match.
Leopards coach Fred Ambani made three changes to his starting eleven, with Kaycie Odhiambo, Randy Bakari, and Ronald Sichenje replacing Boniface Munyendo, Peter Maker, and Hassan Beja, respectively.
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Posta Rangers’ lineup saw two changes: Bernard Odhiambo made his maiden start in place of Bernard Ondiek, and Oliver Maloba started for the first time this season, replacing Geoffrey Otieno.
The first 15 minutes were largely uneventful, with the first action being a tussle in the AFC Leopards box cleared by Brian Ojok.
The deadlock was broken in the 22nd minute by Kelly Madada, who weaved past two players before firing a shot into the far corner to give AFC Leopards the lead. Two minutes later, in the 24th minute, Randy Bakari received the first Yellow Card of the day after a late challenge on Maxwell Odada.
The resulting free kick was headed away for a corner by Vincent Mahiga, a corner kick that almost saw Kaycie Odhiambo put the ball into his own net with the woodwork coming to his aid.
The frantic pace continued, and in the 33rd minute, Jackson Dwang levelled the scores from a free kick. Leopards goalkeeper James Ssetuba’s vision was blocked, and he couldn’t get a finger on the shot. In the 42nd minute, Ugandan Import Ssenyonjo’s low shot failed to hit the target, going out wide.
Just before the break, in the 44th minute, a quick start from a free kick found Caleb Olilo, who delivered a dangerous pass from the right, pushed away by Ojok. At the stroke of halftime, Oliver Maloba received a Yellow Card for a tactical foul inhibiting a counter-attack from Leopards dangerman Kelly Madada.
AFC Leopards made a change at halftime, introducing James Kinyanjui for Victor Otieno, who made an instant impact by winning a corner. Samuel Ssenyonjo scored from the Ronald Sichenje kick, immediately giving Leopards the 2-1 lead.
Leopards were then forced into a change in the 50th minute when Brian Wanyama replaced the injured Musa Oundo.
Five minutes later, in the 58th minute, another Yellow Card was handed to Posta Rangers’ Kevin Juma for a challenge on Kelly Madada. Juma was lucky to escape a second yellow card in the 61st minute after a studs-up challenge on Ronald Sichenje.
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In the 65th minute, Kaycie Odhiambo received a Yellow Card for felling Trevor in a tactical foul.
Coach Pamzo responded with a triple substitution, introducing Vincent Wasambo, Brian Marita, and Owen Mboya for Caleb Olilo, Kevin Juma, and Maxwell Odada.
Immediately after, Eliud Lokuwam missed a chance to draw Posta level, heading wide with an empty net in sight. Leopards then made a double substitution with Samuel Ssenyonjo and Kaycie Odhiambo replaced by Elias Mugane and Boniface Munyendo, respectively.
Lokuwam finally levelled the scores for Posta Rangers in the 80th minute after a corner kick, capitalizing on an ensuing melee in the box. The match ended in a 2-2 draw as both teams head into the international break.